Judaism of the Second Temple Period

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JUDAISM OF THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD

EERDMANS -- Judaism of the Second Temple Period (Flusser) final text Monday, September 24, 2007 5:25:17 PM 1 Color profile: Disabled Composite 140 lpi at 45 degrees

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JUDAISM OF THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD

volume 1 Qumran and Apocalypticism

David Flusser

Translated by Azzan Yadin

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

The Hebrew University Magnes Press • Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem Perspective • Jerusalem, Israel

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Originally published in Hebrew under the title Yahadut Bayit Sheni: Qumran ve Apocalyptica (Jerusalem: Hebrew University Magnes Press and Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Press, 2002).

Published 2007 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 / P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K. The Hebrew University Magnes Press, P.O. Box 39099, Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem Perspective, Jerusalem, Israel http://www.jerusalemperspective.com

Printed in the United States of America

121110090807 7654321

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Flusser, David, 1917–2000 [Yahadut Bayit sheni. English] Judaism of the Second Temple period / David Flusser; translated by Azzan Yadin. p. cm. Contents: v. 1. Qumran and apocalypticism ISBN 978-0-8028-2469-1 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Judaism — History — Post-exilic period, 586 b.c.–210 a.d. 2. Jewish sects — History. 3. Jews — History — 586 b.c.–70 a.d. 4. Qumran community. 5. Apocalyptic literature — History and criticism. I. Title.

BM176.F5513 2007 296.09¢014 — dc22 2007022167

www.eerdmans.com

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Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgments x

Introduction: Qumran and the Essenes xi

1. The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview 1

2. The Essene Worldview 25

3. The Economic Ideology of Qumran 32

4. Medicine and Qumran 38

5. A Pre-Gnostic Concept in the Dead Sea Scrolls 40

6. “In the Image of the Likeness of His Form” 50

7.“NotbyanAngel...” 61

8. A Qumran Fragment and the Second Blessing of the Amidah 66

9. 4QMMT and the Benediction Against the Minim 70

10. The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy 119

11. Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll 140

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CONTENTS

12. The Death of the Wicked King 159

13. A Comment on a Prayer for the Welfare of King Jonathan 170

14. The Roman Empire in Hasmonean and Essene Eyes 175

15. The Eschatological Temple 207

16. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum 214

17. The Apocryphal Psalms of David 258

18. The “Flesh-Spirit” Dualism in the Qumran Scrolls and the New Testament 283

19. “The Secret Things Belong to the Lord” (Deut. 29:29): Ben Sira and the Essenes 293

20. The Jewish Origins of the Early Church’s Attitude toward the State 299

21. The Isaiah Pesher and the Notion of Twelve Apostles in the Early Church 305

22. The Half-shekel in the Gospels and the Qumran Community 327

Index of Names 334

Index of Subjects 337

Index of Sources 342

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Foreword

Those who do not know Hebrew may finally read the English versions of Da- vid Flusser’s collected essays. The present volume, Judaism of the Second Tem- ple Period: Qumran and Apocalypticism, is the culmination of a remarkable effort and collaboration on the part of translator Azzan Yadin and three publishers: Magnes Press, Jerusalem Perspective, and Eerdmans. It is with great satisfaction that the publishers bring Flusser’s insights to a wider audience. Flusser conversed fluently in nine languages and read scholarly literature in an additional seventeen. His first language was German. His second, learned fluently only after his immigration to Israel, was Hebrew. Conse- quently, most of Flusser’s published writings are in German or Hebrew. Only a small percentage of Flusser’s articles were authored in English. The scope and importance of Flusser’s research is so great that it is unthinkable that his Hebrew and German writings should for long remain untranslated to En- glish. Flusser’s contributions to Dead Sea Scrolls research, Apocalypticism, and Apocalytic Literature is inestimable. Jerusalem Perspective is pleased to have had a hand in this publishing endeavor. Though Flusser wrote less often in the English language, he did succeed in producing two volumes in English: with the help of his student R. Steven Notley, he wrote Jesus (The Sage from Galilee, 4th ed., Eerdmans, 2007); and with the help of his student Brad H. Young, he collected most of his English articles into Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1988, 725 pp.). My relationship with Flusser was one of a pupil to his mentor. Enrolled as a student in the department of Jewish History at the Hebrew University, I

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FOREWORD

began to study New Testament and Early Christianity with Flusser in 1964. At that time, he was only 46 years old. He continued to enlighten me until the final days of his life, even from his hospital bed at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. Professor Flusser died on September 15, 2000, his 83rd birthday. Flusser was one of the world’s leading Jewish authorities on the New Testament and Early Christianity. His pioneering research on Jesus and Christianity’s relationship to Judaism won him international recognition. Flusser’s collaboration with Robert L. Lindsey, beginning in 1961, resulted in a new approach to the Synoptic Gospels, the approach espoused by The Jerusa- lem School of Synoptic Research (www.js.org), which is an association of Jewish and Christian scholars. This unique cooperation was capped recently by the twelve essays (including one by Flusser, posthumously) of Jesus’ Last Week: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels (ed. R. S. Notley, M. Turnage and B. Becker; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2005). In my judgment, disciples should assure that all the unpublished material of a prominent teacher is published before they publish their own research. The teacher’s work takes precedence over the disciple’s. With this in mind, I approached Hai Tsabar, director of Magnes Press, the publishing arm of the Hebrew University, about the possibility of translating into English the two-volume collection of Flusser’s Hebrew articles that Magnes Press recently had published. To my delight, Hai was as enthusiastic about the project as I was. It is my pleasure here to thank him publicly for facilitating this difficult and lengthy project. Even before the project was envisioned, Jerusalem Perspective had made an effort to expand Flusser’s English bibliography. Since 1989, we have published most of Flusser’s English output; note these examples: “...ToBury Caiaphas, Not to Praise Him” (Jerusalem Perspective 33 & 34 [Jul.-Oct. 1991], 23-28), and “New Portrait of Salome” (Jerusalem Perspective 55 [Apr.-Jun. 1999], 18-23). These and Flusser’s other recent articles also have been published electronically at http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/. The publishers wish to express their appreciation to Serge Ruzer. In consultation with Professor Flusser, Dr. Ruzer collected, arranged and brought to press the two volumes of Flusser’s published Hebrew articles. (The present volume is the translation of the first volume of that collection.) The publishers are greatly indebted to the volume’s translator, Azzan Yadin, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. My thanks are extended to the editors and graphic artists of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, who have given us a product worthy of Flusser’s ge- nius.

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Foreword

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the donors who made this volume possible (see the Acknowledgments page), especially the Branch family.

David Bivin Jerusalem Perspective http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/

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Acknowledgments

The publishers are deeply grateful to the following donors. Their generosity made the publication of this volume possible.

Stephen and Jean Branch (in memory of Buddy and Iris Branch)

Patricia West Branch

Steven Czarsty, Jr., and Judith Czarsty (in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Branch)

S. P. Branch (in memory of Bible translators William and Betty Sedat, Guatemala)

Wm. Stan and Suzy Bivin, Steve and Julie Bivin, Andrew and Margaret Bosanquet, Quincy and Joanne Burgess, Alistair and Nicola Montgomery, Phillip and Linda Pattillo, Thomas and Colette Rumfelt, Paul, Clarice and Jeffery Steen (in memory of Gregory Steen)

Dale L. and Pat Broam, James H. Charlesworth, Martha Eaton, Ryan Gustafson, Karin Hahn, Nancy E. and Vincent M. Johnsen, Edwin and Helen Plenty, Warren J. Porter, Mitchell L. Riggs, L. Vasquez

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Introduction: Qumran and the Essenes

The articles in the present collection consist of my studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a pursuit I began when the scrolls were first discovered and which continues to this day, as their publication continues. Though some of these studies were published years ago, I chose not to needlessly update them. I have spared the readers many of the hypotheses put forward by some scholars, primarily because I do not wish to take part in the creation of the “phan- tasms” that seem to have sprouted like mushrooms in the wake of the “shock- ing” discovery, a discovery that, for whatever reason, causes some people to throw discretion to the wind. That said, every publication, be it of a worthwhile study or — and particularly — of a new Qumran text, requires a willingness to reexamine our assumptions and, on more than one occasion, to abandon established conclusions. This ongoing process is reflected in the studies gathered in this volume. Most scholars rightly identify the Qumran community with the Essenes, who are known to us from the writings of Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder. If in the early days of Qumran scholarship Josephus shed light on the scrolls, today the roles are reversed and the scrolls aid in interpreting Josephus. In the course of investigation it has, moreover, become apparent that Josephus is a more accurate witness than Philo in all matters Essene. Of course, there are facts that neither author mentions, and details they mention but the scrolls pass over in silence. Ultimately, however, there are not many points of contradiction between Josephus’ account and the writings of the sect. The identification of the Qumran community with the Essenes does not answer all questions. It is clear that not all the Qumran writings are sec-

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INTRODUCTION: QUMRAN AND THE ESSENES

tarian or reflect a specifically Essene sensibility. After all, the Qumran corpus contains parts of all the books of the Bible except the Scroll of Esther (which was rare at the time), and even fragments of Ben Sira (Sirach), whose view certainly was at odds with that of the Qumran community. This apparent discrepancy may be due to the fact that the Dead Sea sect, like many of its contemporaries, considered Ben Sira part of the biblical canon. In light of this, it is necessary to distinguish between the sectarian writings and the rest of the Qumran texts. One scholar has proposed an orthographic criterion: that the sectarian writings employ a unique plene spelling. But while this hypothesis cannot be rejected out of hand, there is no reason to assume that a Qumran scribe could not have employed this spelling when copying non- sectarian texts. Another distinguishing criterion may be the special, somewhat artificial language of the sectarian texts, though here too the distinction is not absolute. There is no question that the whole (or almost whole) scrolls that were composed by the Qumran sectarians include the War Scroll, the Community Rule (also called the Manual of Discipline) and the Rule of the Congregation, the Hodayot, the Temple Scroll, and 4QMMT. The status of the Damascus Document is more complicated, since it was published before the discovery of the scrolls from a medieval witness preserved in the Cairo Genizah. When the scrolls were first discovered, there were scholars who recognized a connection between the Damascus Document and the Qumran writings. Since then, a number of important Damascus Document fragments from Qumran have been published (see DJD XVIII, 1996). The Qumran fragments preserve a reference to Damascus (there, p. 44), though it occurs in a problematic sentence that speaks of “the Interpreter of the Law who will come to Damascus” (CD 7.18-19). Now, the Interpreter of the Law is an important figure within the community. We further find reference to “the converts of Israel, who left the land of Judah and lived in the land of Damascus” (CD 6.5), and to “all the men who entered the new covenant in the land of Damascus” (CD 8.21, and see also 10.19; 19.34; 20.21). It appears, then, that the Interpreter of the Law came to Damascus, where a new covenant was established among those who left Judah and “lived in the land of Damascus.” The matter is further complicated by the fact that the community of the Damascus Document differs with regard to its laws and its social structure from the strict ideological structure of the Qumran community, reflecting more closely the description of the Essenes found in Josephus. What was the fate of the Damascus group? Why did the laws of the Damascus Document merge with parts of the Rule of the Congregation? Perhaps the community eventually settled near the Essenes on the banks of the Dead Sea, though there will undoubtedly be scholars who

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Introduction: Qumran and the Essenes

will use these issues as a launching pad for much more colorful hypotheses (assuming, of course, they are aware of the severity of the problem). As noted, we ought to distinguish the texts that contain the Essene worldview from the Qumran trove as a whole. A similar challenge exists with regard to the relationship between the Essene writings and the biblical apocrypha. It is clear that the Essene writings are apocalyptic — this is a major issue in the scrolls. Among the Jewish apocryphal works there are some that emerged from the same dualistic conception that gave rise to the Essene cult, including Jubilees, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the Book of Enoch which is preserved in its entirety in Ethiopic (Geez). One area that has not received the attention it merits is the potential contribution of Qumran Hebrew to the history of the Hebrew language. I believe the language of the scrolls is largely artificial. The Qumran authors took care to avoid rabbinic Hebrew, preferring to imitate the Hebrew of the Bible, but the shift is not always smooth; occasionally one finds in the Qumran texts clear influence of Rabbinic Hebrew and even of Aramaic. Moreover, there are Qumran passages whose Hebrew is very similar to that used in Jewish liturgy to this very day — passages composed by members of the sect itself. In this regard, it is important to bear in mind that the Essene sect, and the broader movement within which it took shape, are part of the wondrous phenomenon known as Second Temple Judaism. It would be wrong to isolate the Qumran sectarians from the broader Jewish context of the time. Indeed, they bear the same special message that helped shape the spiritual profile of Juda- ism to the present day. As for early Christianity, my Judaism and the Origins of Christianity is a collection of essays devoted to that topic. Let me state for now that the teachings of Jesus reflect first and foremost the views of the sages, but they are also influenced by Jewish apocalypticism. Jesus knew the Essenes but rejected their cultish separatism. To the extent that his teachings show traces of Qumran influence, it was most likely transmitted through John the Baptist, who was closer to the Essene sectarians (though he too rejected their separatism). Interestingly, the Qumran theology exerts greater influence on the second layer of formative Christianity, that is, on the epistles of Paul and other New Testament texts. A detailed discussion of these matters is available in my aforementioned book.

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1. The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview

The discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls, whose authors were apparently the Essenes, has generated many new insights into different areas of the study of ancient Judaism, and will undoubtedly continue to do so. It is particularly worth noting that the discovery of the Scrolls provides for us the earliest known example of the ancient sectarian literature, and therein lies their import, as research tools into the social and religious underpinnings of the sects. The material that has been published thus far does not provide us with a comprehensive picture of the spiritual evolution of the sect, but with every new publication we are able to piece together a fuller picture of the religious ferment within the sect. The publication of the Hebrew collection Otsar ha- Megilot ha-Genuzot (The Dead Sea Scroll Treasury)1 whichisnowwidely available, sheds new light on the spiritual dilemmas of the sect, and it seems to me that we can now hazard a preliminary reconstruction of the spiritual development of the Qumran community.2 All the sectarian texts found in the Judean Desert exhibit a series of core

1. Otsar ha-Megilot ha-Genuzot, E. Sukenik (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1954). [Translator’s note: The Dead Sea Scrolls are cited according to The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, F. García Marti- nez and E. J. C. Tigchelaar (eds.) (Leiden, 1997-1998).] 2. The present study assumes that the sectarian writings found in the Qumran caves were produced by a single group. It is evident that they belong to the library of the community whose remains have been excavated, and that the texts all refer to a select group, outside of which there is no salvation.

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religious and social beliefs, which define the sect and distinguish it from the rest of the Jewish people. The classic formulation of this worldview is found in the third and fourth column of the Manual of Discipline. The sectarian view is ultimately based on a doctrine of dualism, which divides the world into two warring factions: the faction of light and the faction of darkness. Ac- cording to the Qumran authors, every divine act is guided by this duality (1QS 3.25). The faction of light is led by the angel Michael, the Prince of Light (1QM 17.6), while the faction of darkness is headed by Belial, the Prince of Depravity. The entire world is divided, with each faction including both humans and angels. The sons of light, who are governed by the authority of light, are, in fact, the members of the Qumran community. The sons of darkness, on the other hand, are the people of evil, consisting of anyone who opposes the sect and its teachings. The doctrine of the bifurcated world and its warring factions is related to the sectarian belief in predestination: “Before they existed He established their entire design. And when they have come into being, at their appointed time, they will execute all their works according to his glorious design, without altering anything” (1QS 3.15-16). “Before creating them You know all their deeds for ever and ever....Without You nothing is done, and nothing is known without your will” (1QHa 9.7-8). Thus, the division into two hostile groups was determined prior to the creation of the world. God furthermore decided who would be counted among the righteous, who among the wicked: “For you created the just and the wicked” (1QHa 12.38, and see also 7.14-21 and CD 2.7-12). And yet, this division is only temporary: “God, in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom of his glory, has determined the end to the existence of injustice and on the appointed time of the visitation he will obliterate it for ever” (1QS 4.18-19). The scrolls preserve many eschatological visions concerning the destruction of the wicked, fantastic descriptions of reversals in the natural order of the world, an eruption of the forces of evil from hell, and a violent war between the forces of good and evil both on earth and in the heavens. Only the good will be spared the otherwise total destruction — where “the good” refers, quite naturally, to the members of the sect themselves. These key doctrines are found throughout the Qumran writings. That said, a close examination of the individual texts reveals differences in the doctrines and beliefs expressed in each. What is the nature of these differences? Is there a discernable conceptual evolution, or perhaps there were different aspects to their teachings? The following survey will attempt to answer this question. What was the core position of the sect concerning the creation of new ideas within the Qumran community? The teachings of the sect — of at least

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The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview

some of them — were esoteric, and never intended for Israel as a whole. Indeed, the members of the sect were commanded to “hide the counsel of the Law in the midst of the men of injustice” (1QS 9.17, and see also 10.24, and 1QHa 13.24- 26). And yet, when the same member was afforded religious revelation of some kind, it was forbidden to keep it to himself, lest the elders of the community be angry with him: “And every matter hidden from Israel but which has been found out by the Interpreter, he should not keep hidden from them for fear of a spirit of straying”3 (1QS 8.11-12, and see also 9.16-19). Josephus also mentions these two complementary rules: according to his account, members of the Essenes would vow “to conceal nothing from the members of the sect and to report none of their secrets to others” (JW 2.141).4 As for the rule requiring that members make available their discoveries to the broader community, it is tied to the sect’s historiosophy, to wit, that the entire course of history, from arche to eschaton, has been divinely foreordained: “Everything has been engraved before you with the stylus of remembrance for all the incessant periods and the cycles of the number of everlasting years in all their predetermined times, and they will not be hidden, and will not be lacking from before you” (1QHa 9.23-25). The history of the world has been foreordained, divided into a series of “times” or eras, to the point that it is said of human beings “You have shared out their tasks in all their generations” (1QHa 9.16). One wishing to live according to God’s will must, then, adopt a series of changing attitudes, each according to the events of his time, of his generation. He must, then, “walk with everyone in the measure of the truth and the regulation of the time” (1QS 8.4, and see CD 12.20-21). This is the reason for the positive approach toward the religious ferment within the community — it was seen as a means of calibrating the spiritual and practical position of the sect with the changing course of history. The occasional revelations of divine will that manifested themselves within the community provided guidance regarding the appropriate position to be adopted vis-à-vis the shifting conditions, and it was the sect member’s obligation to act accordingly. It was incumbent upon him “to be united in the counsel of God and walk in perfection in His sight, complying with all revealed things concerning the regulated times of their stipulations” (1QS 1.8), while the Qumran sages were enjoined “to fulfill the will of God in compliance with all revelation for every period; he should acquire all the wisdom that has been

3. The term ‘straying’ (ogsl) refers in the Qumran texts to a betrayal of the sect’s covenant. In the Manual of Discipline, the man is cursed who “enters this covenant, and places the obstacles of his iniquity in front of himself to stray” (1QS 2.12), “may he be cut off from the midst of all the sons of light because of his straying” (1QS 2.16). The Damascus Document distinguishes between those who ‘stray’ and those who ‘hold fast.’ 4. All citations from Josephus follow the Loeb edition, translated by Thackeray.

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gained according to the periods and the decree of the period” (1QS 9.13-14, and see also 9.18-20, 8.15-16, 10.25-26, 4QPHab 7.11-14.5 The practical outcome of the community’s positive disposition toward the revelations occurring in its midst, was that the individual members supported the evolution of its sectarian doctrine, and even guided it. Needless to say, the publication of individual views within the sect entailed a critique of the spiritual innovations of any individual member.6

The full elucidation of the intellectual evolution under discussion hinges on the following questions: when were the individual scrolls composed? The excavations at Khirbet Qumran7 demonstrate that the sect settled in the Judean desert during the reign of John Hyrcanus (135-104 bce), or perhaps Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 bce),8 and remained there (apparently with an interruption of a few decades during the reign of Herod) until the summer of 68 ce,when the region was destroyed by the soldiers of the X legion, during the war of Vespasian. Two of the sect’s works reflect a recognizable political-historical setting, thereby allowing us to determine the date of their composition. The first of these is the War Scroll, an eschatological apocalypse, in which the Sons of Light (i.e., the members of the cult) will conquer the entire world in forty days. Their main enemy is the “Kittim of Assyria,” that is, the sons of Japheth

5. The present discussion is intended as a supplement to my article on Qumran’s view of prophecy, “The Apocryphal Book of Ascensio Isaiae and the Dead Sea Sect,” Judaism and the Or- igins of Christianity, 3-20. 6. Of course, only innovations that did not break with the core beliefs of the sect could be accepted. Josephus recounts that the Essene initiate vowed “to transmit their rules exactly as he himself received them” (BJ 2.142), perhaps the oath alluded to in 1QHa (6.20): “I do not exchange your truth for wealth, or for a bribe all your judgments” since “all who know you do not change your words” (6.15). 7. See R. de Vaux, “Fouilles au Khirbet Qumrân,” RB 61 (1954), 206-236. 8. I am of the opinion that they settled in the desert during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus. According to Josephus (AJ 13.311; BJ 1.78), Judah the Essene studied with his students in Jerusalem during the reign of Aristobulus I. The epithet “the exiled of the desert” (1QM 1.2) indicates that the community sought refuge in the desert from persecution, thus making it unlikely that some members remained in Jerusalem. I concur with Seligman (review of Karl Elliger, Studien zum Habakuk-Kommentar vom Toten Meer [Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1953], Qiryat Sefer 30 [1956], 44) that Jannaeus is a leading candidate for the “wicked priest” who persecuted the Teacher of Righteousness, who was the founder of the sect.

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The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview

and their king — referring to the Hellenistic king in Syria, one of the Seleucid emperors.9 Since Syria was conquered by Tigranes of Armenia in 83 bce, and later became a Roman province, it stands to reason this is a terminus ante quem for the composition of the War Scroll.10 The second datable work is Pesher Habakkuk, a typological interpretation that elucidates the words of the prophet as references to the history of the sect.11 Most scholars agree, and with good reason, that the Kittim12 “who... come from far off, from the islands of the sea, to devour all the nations, like an eagle, insatiable” (1QpHab 3.9-12), who occupy a central place in the Pesher, are the Romans, who appeared on the Jewish historical horizon at this time. The author of the Pesher understood full well that the Romans would play an important role in the history of the Jews, and predicted quite accurately that “the last priest of Jerusalem, who will accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations” will ultimately have their loot “given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (1QpHab 9.4-7), that is, the Romans. Pesher Habakkuk, then, was composed prior to 63 bce, when Pompey conquered Jerusalem.13

9. The material on the Kittim in the War Scroll has been collected by Seligman in his review of Elliger, p. 43, n. 17. 10. I believe that it is possible to date the War Scroll more precisely to the reign of Jannaeus (see n. 8), which included a civil war during which the sect might have entertained the hope of seizing political power by force. The opening paragraph of the War Scroll (1.1-7) describes the political situation during which the apocalyptic war will erupt. Though the paragraph is poorly preserved and difficult to reconstruct, I believe there are grounds to suppose that it reflects the reality of 89 bce, when Demetrius Eucaerus invaded the land “being helped by the violators of the covenant” (1QM 1.2), namely, the Pharisees. I hope to discuss this issue more fully at a later date. 11. In addition to Pesher Habakkuk there are also fragments of Pesher Micah and Pesher Psalms, both of which display a similar interpretive approach, and may have been composed at the same time — and perhaps by the same author. Philo speaks (Quod omn. Prob. Liber §82) of an Essene custom in which following the Sabbath study of Scripture, a learned man would stand and explain everything that was in need of elaboration “symbolically”: t~ g~r pleÀsta di~ sumbËlwn {rqaiotrËpæ zhlãsei par’ aÔtoÀv filosofeÀtai. It appears that Philo’s symbolic interpretation of the Essenes refers to the typological approach of the Pesher texts. 12. According to Josephus, this name applies to the nations of all the islands, and to most of the Sea People (AJ 1.128). The word appears to originate in the phrase “But ships shall come from Kittim” (Num. 24:24), and was applied by Second Temple speakers to foreigners who came by boat. Thus the Kittim mentioned in the War Scroll (as in 1 Maccabees 1.1 and 8.5) are the Greeks, while those in Pesher Habakkuk (and in Daniel 11:30) are the Romans. 13. And see M. Z. Segal, “On the History of the Sect Yahad,” Tarbiz 22 (1951), 138-140; Seligman’s review of Elliger, 43-44. I believe these scholars date Pesher Habakkuk too early, since they fail to notice that the text distinguishes between two historical eras: that of the Teacher of Righteousness — which is referred to in the past tense, and that of the Kittim — referred to in the future tense.

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The Manual of Discipline is the sect’s regulations, while Hodayot is a collection of religious poetry. Neither provides explicit references to the political reality of the day, and so must be dated using — among other tools — their intellectual and doctrinal content. As I will argue in what follows, this content points to a relatively late composition. Among other factors leading to this conclusion is the conciliatory and irenic political tone of these texts, which contrasts with the activism of the War Scroll, on the one hand, but accords with Josephus’s description of the Essenes as peace seekers, on the other. Moreover, I will argue that the Hodayot, which are appended to the end of the Manual of Discipline, contain innovative religious doctrines, unattested in the other Qumran texts. Therefore, the presumed order of composition would be: the War Scroll (prior to 83 bce), Pesher Habakkuk (prior to 63 bce), the Manual of Discipline, and the Hodayot.14

III

Do the scrolls reveal the social background of the Qumran community? Among the members of the sect, a special role is played by the priests: the sons of Aaron governed the property of the sect (1QS 9.7), taught Torah and proper conduct (1QS 6.3-5, CD 4.3-4, 5.5), and were “asked for their counsel in every matter” (1QS 6.4). It is undoubtedly no coincidence that the founder of the community, the Teacher of Righteousness, is himself a priest (Pesher Psalms 2.15, Pesher Habakkuk 2.8). Among the priests of the sect, a special place was reserved for “the sons of Zadok, the priests who safeguard the covenant” (1QS 5.2, and see also 9.14, and CD 4.3-4, 5.5). As a result, scholars have concluded — rightly, it seems — that certain priestly families played a crucial role in the establishment of the sect.15 Throughout its existence, members of the community refer to themselves with the biblical term }evionim, the word from which the Ebionites de-

14. The dating of the Damascus Document is knottier. Rabin, The Zadokite Documents (Oxford, 1954), x, rightly asserts that the Damascus Document is made up of two distinct compositions that were united by a medieval copyist. Needless to say, there is no assurance that the two compositions were originally produced at the same time. 15. See, in particular, Segal, “On the History of the Sect Yahad,”137 and 149. Based on the interpretation of Ezekiel 44:9 in CD 4.3-4, Seligman (review of Elliger, 44) argues that the term “Sons of Zadok” is used symbolically in the Qumran scrolls. However, he fails to notice that the passage also interprets the word “priests” (kohanim). That the priests played a practical role in the sect is evident both from the scrolls themselves and from Josephus, and see also Rabin, Zadokite Documents, 14.

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rive their name. In using this term, the Qumran community apparently sought to emphasize their own asceticism and poverty — a corollary to their virulent attacks against the wealthy and privileged. The roots of this ideology of poverty — a pattern that repeats with other movements in other historical eras — are found in the lower social and economic status of most of the Qumran sectarians. The Qumranites are distinguished by their poverty from the wicked, for “the strength of heroes lies in the abundance of luxuries, . . . the abundance of grain, wine, oil; they take pride in their belongings and possessions” while the members of the community thank God that “You have not placed my support in greed, nor in wealth...norhaveyouplaced the inclination of the flesh as my refuge” (1QHa 18. 22-25). They did not view their poverty as merely the result of social injustice; they elevated their poverty to a worldview. Not only does it distinguish them from the wicked rich, it acts as a positive force; they are not mere paupers, they are “poor in grace,”that is, the poor who have a share in God’s grace. The phrase “poor in spirit” (1QM 14.7) marks the sect as a collective of the poor, within which the holy spirit acts, that is, as a community with a positive religious message.16 Indeed, the ideological commitment to poverty manifested itself in the community’s practice of shared property, as discussed both by Josephus and by the Manual of Dis- cipline. Josephus says of the Essenes “Riches they despise” (BJ 2.122). The ideology of poverty was closely connected with the ascetic tendencies evident at Qumran: they eat one plate with a single course at each meal (130), avoid oils that soften the skin (123), and refuse to wear new clothing or shoes until the ones on their body deteriorate completely (126).17 Indeed, audible laughter was prohibited within the community: the bylaws of the sect determine a punishment for any member “who giggles inanely causing his voice to be heard” (1QS 7.16). The radical avoidance of any worldly pleasure is rooted in the ascetic spirit that dominated the sect. No member of the community “should walk in the stubbornness of his heart in order to go astray following his heart and his eyes and the musings of his inclination. Instead he should circumcise in the Community the foreskin of his tendency and of his stiff

16. The early followers of Jesus, who apparently also hailed from the same lower strata, referred to themselves as “poor” (Luke 6:20) and “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3). The scrolls prove that the Matthean language should not be rejected as a later church emendation in the “Pauline” spirit. 17. The view that the Essenes avoided alcohol is not supported by the ancient sources. The Manual of Discipline (6.5) states that the Qumranites drank tirosh, a word that can be translated according to its Mishnaic sense of unfermented juices (see Y. M. Grintz, “The Mem- bers of the Qumran Community” (Hebrew), Sinai [1953], 15), or according to its biblical sense of “wine.”

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neck” (1QS 5.4-5). Josephus similarly remarks (BJ 2.120) that the Essenes “shun pleasures as a vice and regard temperance and the control of the passions as a special virtue.” This asceticism leads to a certain intensity in their social and intellectual tendencies, and finds expression primarily in an abdi- cation of personal freedom for the sake of sectarian discipline. The Manual of Discipline demonstrates the extent to which the community’s bylaws system- atically took over the life of the individual, and even over his thoughts. The totalizing demands the sect made of its individual members were undoubtedly a powerful force in shaping it as a single social entity. Moreover, the ascetic demands included a separation from the dominant society and its norms:18 a practical manifestation of the hostility the community felt toward the rest of society, portrayed as the lot of Belial and the Sons of Darkness, whose norms must be uprooted. The contrast between the socially ascendant groups within Second Temple Jewish society, on the one hand, and the community of “the poor” (}evionim), on the other, is further highlighted in the honorable title “the simple of Judah” (1QpHab 12.4).19 The first Christians also adopted this honorific,20 casting themselves as the simple to whom God has revealed the secrets kept hidden from “the wise and the intelligent.” It is possible that the Qumranites who adopted this epithet did so to highlight their radical rejection of the teachings of the sages. For according to the scrolls, the teachings of official circles are not only misguided, they are deleterious: “They are mediators of fraud and seers of deceit, they have plotted a devilish thing against me . . . to change your Law, which you engraved in my heart, for flattering teachings for your people; they have denied the drink of knowledge to the thirsty, but for their thirst they have given them vinegar to drink, to consider their mistake....Butthey,hypocrites,plot intrigues of Belial, they search you with a double heart, and are not firmly based in your truth....Theyspeaktoyour

18. Following Engels, The Peasant War in Germany, M. J. Olgin (trans.) (New York, 1926). 19. It appears the epithet ‘the simple’ peta}im derives from the sectarian midrash on “The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me” (Psalm 116:6). It appears they interpreted the verse to apply to themselves, the simple whom God keeps and will, in the future, redeem them, since they accepted their poverty willingly. 20. The gospels (Matt. 11:25-30, Luke 10:21-22) preserve a prayer of thanksgiving attributed to Jesus, which begins: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to the simple.”The prayer is similar to the Hodayot not only in its rhythmic structure and the opening “I thank you”: the torah mentioned by Jesus is — like the sect’s — an esoteric teaching made known only to a select few, referred to as the simple, the same title applied to the Qumran community. (The Greek n©pioi corresponds here — as in the Septuagint — to the Hebrew fyaop.) And see E. Meyer, Ursprung des Christentums (1924), 280-291.

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people with staggering lip and weird tongue to convert to folly all their deeds withdeceit....Fortheysaid of the vision of knowledge: It is not certain! and of the path of your heart: It is not that!” (1QHa 12.9-18). These words bespeak an opposition between certain circles in Second Temple Judaism and the Qumran community, and, indeed, a conflict between two mutually exclusive worldviews, each claiming exclusive truth. There was clearly a deep rift between “the poor of grace” and their contemporaries, a rift explained by the scrolls in theological terms, as part of the division of the world into two warring parties. “For God has sorted them into equal parts until the last time, and has put an everlasting loathing between [their] divisions. Deeds of injustice are an abhorrence to truth and all the paths of truth are an abhorrence to injustice. (There exists) a violent conflict in respect of all their decrees since they cannot walk together” (1QS 4.16-18). This dualistic doctrine provides an ideological grounding for the sect’s hatred toward the broader society, that is, toward all who rejected their teachings and lifestyle, and refused to share in their plans. The members of Qumran vow “to love all the sons of light, each one according to his lot in God’s plan, and to detest all the sons of darkness, each one in accordance to his guilt in God’s vindication” (1QS 1.9-11; and see Josephus, BJ 2.139). Hatred toward the surrounding society is thus transformed into a religious commandment. The dualistic doctrine similarly justifies the radical disengagement from others, since they are the wicked who are to be avoided. “None of the men of the Community should acquiesce to their authority in any law or regulation. No one should eat of any of their possessions, or drink or accept anything from their hands unless at its price....Noholymanshould support himself on any deed of futility, for futile are all those who do not know the covenant. And all those who scorn his word he shall cause to vanish from the world; all their deeds are uncleanness before him and there is uncleanness in all their possessions” (1QS 5.15-20, and see also CD 6.14-16). Their isolated residence in the desert allowed the Qumran community to strictly adhere to God’s commandment, that a chasm be maintained between the two parties that make up humanity. The desert community set itself apart from “the dwelling of the men of sin” (1QS 8.13), and distanced itself from all of the sinful society of their day. At the same time, the desert affords an effective means for the ascetic withdrawal of the community from all worldly pleasures, from “the noise of the nations and the uproar of kingdoms” (1QHa 14.7). That said, it is clear that the move to the desert has a concrete social function as well. After all, many popular movements in antiquity had their genesis in a departure for the desert. This move was motivated by the difficult social conditions, and often by pressures and persecutions that caused the

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group to seek safe haven in the desert. It appears that persecution played a role in the Qumran community’s move to the desert.21 Proof of this is found in the War Scroll (which in our reckoning was composed early on in the existence of the sect), which refers to the members of the community as “the exiled of the desert” (1QM 1.2), that is, as having been forced to go into exile in the desert. According to the War Scroll, the members of the community will do battle against the forces of the enemy “when the exiled sons of light return from the desert of the nations to camp in the desert of Jerusalem” (1QM 1.3). Here, then, the departure for the desert is seen as a means of concentrating the forces needed for the revolutionary military operation. In those days, anyone seeking a total revolution adopted an apocalyptic doctrine. After all, these doctrines hold that the corrupt order cannot be overturned until the current world passes away and a new world order arises, one suited to divine justice. Man cannot precipitate this revolution unaided; righteousness will take the place of corruption only with divine assistance. The apocalyptic thinker sees himself as living in the final generation, and thus maintains the hope of seeing the dawn of a new, just world. We saw above that for the Qumran community there existed a chasm between them and the rest of Jewish society, a.k.a. the Sons of Darkness, a chasm that could only be bridged in the end of days, when evil is completely abolished. The worldview of the “poor of grace” was, then, thoroughly apocalyptic: they believed their time was the end time. They were “those who observe the Law, whose hands will not desert the service of truth when the final age is extended beyond them, because all the ages of God will come at the right time, as he established for them in the mystery of his cunning” (1QpHab 7.11-14). God, then, has revealed to them the secrets of “the consummation of the era” (1QpHab 7.2), which they may yet live to witness. Only the righteous — these being, of course, the members of the Qumran community — will be spared the total annihilation. In them will the verse “The meek shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Ps. 37:11) be fulfilled, a verse that concerns “the congregation of the poor who will tough out the period of distress and will be rescued from all the snares of Belial” (4QpPsa 2.9-11). The end of days will usher in not only a cosmic revolution, but a social revolution, here on earth, in which “the wicked ones of Israel will be cut off and exterminated for ever” (4QpPsa 3.12-13), and “the congregation of his chosen ones...willbechiefs and princes” (4QpPsa 3.5). The apocalyp-

21. These persecutions did not cease even after the community had exiled itself, as “the Wicked Priest pursued the Teacher of Righteousness to consume him with the heat of his anger in the place of his banishment” (1QpHab 9.4-6).

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tic doctrines did not merely console the Community, they promised wonderful rewards to those who steadfastly adhere to the community of the poor. It should be noted that the scrolls published thus far do not emphasize the role of the messiah. True, one of the Hodayot speaks of the birth of “a wonderful counselor with his strength” (1QHa 11.10), i.e., the messiah.22 There are also scattered references to “the messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9.11),23 references to the messiah and to the high priest of his time;24 however, so far none of the scrolls that have been discovered give voice to doctrines or beliefs that involve the personality of the messiah (or the two messiahs). It appears that the relatively marginal role of the messianic figure within the religious system of the scrolls is the result of the central role played by the Qumran community itself in the redemption of humanity. Apocalyptic beliefs are intended from the outset to motivate the believers to change their ways: they are formed for this very purpose, and accepted by their holders as such. The nature of the change depends, of course, on the content of the beliefs. Thus, the belief of Jesus and his disciples that the kingdom of heaven had already appeared, situated them in a realm of purely ethical considerations, which led to a fundamentally pacifistic decision. In contrast, the doctrine of the absolute eradication of evil in the end of days — which appears in all the major scrolls — contains a strong element of resistance to contemporary society as such. This apocalyptic view is rooted in the dualistic nature of Qumran’s teachings: in the end of days the lot of Belial will be annihilated and the sons of light will rule the world. But the hope for eschatological revolution was not presented as a flight of fancy. For it is this hope that inspired one of the Qumran scribes to compose the War Scroll, with its detailed discussion of the war between the sect and its enemies. In this war, which will last forty years (see also 4QpPsa 1.6-8), the sons of light will emerge from the desert, conquering the Land of Israel, then the entire world. The author does not merely imagine the development of the war —

22. This particular hymn teaches an eschatological dualism. When the mother of the messiah becomes pregnant, there will be another who is “pregnant with a serpent” in Sheol, and when the messiah is born “the gates of Sheol will open for all deeds of the serpent” (1QHa 11.1- 18). Most of the hymn is devoted to this eruption of evil forces. 23. And see also CD 7.21, 20.1, 13.21, 14.19. Admittedly, the current form of CD speaks of larqyw vrha jyqm “the messiah of Aaron and Israel” (and once of the messiah from Aaron and Israel [CD 20.1]. However, it is clear that the copyist “corrected” the difficult phrase “the messiah of Aaron and Israel” by omitting the yod of yjyqm. The discovery of the scrolls has demonstrated the error of building mountains of interpretation on the omitted yod of a medieval copyist. 24. On the doctrine of the two messiahs in Qumran and elsewhere, see Grintz, “The Members of the Community,” 30-33.

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the opening paragraph of the War Scroll (1QM 1.1-7) sets out the historical conditions that will hold at the time of its outbreak. As noted, we are of the opinion that these conditions could not hold after 83 bce. The war will begin “when the exiled sons of light return from the desert of the nations to camp in the desert of Jerusalem” (1QM 1.5). It would appear, then, that we are situated at the beginning of the community’s desert sojourn, the beginning of its exile. The ultimate goal of the war — world conquest — is admittedly fantastic, but it should be noted that the scroll allots six years of battle to the conquest of Israel, and that most of the text is devoted to battling a very real enemy, the “Kittim of Assyria” and their (Seleucid) king. The detailed description of the warriors’ armaments and battle tactics further suggests that the author believed this to be a realistic plan. It appears the War Scroll was intended to urge the members of the community to hasten salvation through military force. After all, this was a period of fierce civil wars and re- curring invasions by foreign enemies; a military adventure might not have seemed so far-fetched. Indeed, a group centered in the desert may well have hoped that, given the general upheaval in the Land of Israel, they might enjoy the same success as the early Maccabees. The driving force behind the War Scroll and its military plans was the ideological commitment of an apocalyptic mind. This would be the war to end all wars. The two camps facing off in battle are, in fact, the two factions into which God has divided the world. The “Sons of Light,” the Qumranites, will fight the Sons of Darkness, with absolute victory to the former. Then there will dawn “a time of salvation for the nation of God and a period of rule for all the men of his lot, and the everlasting destruction for all the lot of Belial” (1QM 1.5). Indeed, the entire cosmos will participate in the war, and the Sons of Light will receive succor from heavenly forces, “for this will be the day determined by him since ancient times for the war of extermination against the sons of darkness. On this (day), the assembly of God and the congregation of men shall confront each other for great destruction. The sons of light and the lot of darkness shall battle together for God’s might, between the roar of a huge multitude and the shout of gods and of men” (1QM 1.10-11). The confidence of the author that “the poor whom you save” will be able “to fell the hordes of Belial” (1QM 11.8-9) is, then, based on two factors. First, the belief that the entire war is part of God’s plan — for “since ancient time you determined the day of the great battle...toexterminate all the sons of darkness” (1QM 13.14-16). And second, the expected assistance of the heavenly hosts, headed by “the majestic angel of the kingdom, Michael” (1QM 17.6). The War Scroll, then, is an admixture of apocalyptic visions and sober military strategy; a cosmic victory is assured the Community by its advanced

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war tactics. This combination of mythical doctrines and Realpolitik considerations, which allowed the author to plan the war down to the most minute details, is not sui generic. To the contrary, this is the typical ideology of Jewish messianic movements, as well as various medieval sectarian movements — an ideology that on occasion succeeded in pushing its adherents into actual war (as with the Hussites and the German peasants). As far as we know, however, the Qumran community never tried to carry out the plans of the War Scroll. We have seen that the War Scroll advocates one of the core beliefs of Qumran, namely the division of the world into two factions (see particularly 1QM column 13). The enmity toward the “lot of Belial” — couched as a religious commandment by the sect — encouraged them to conceive of a military action that will destroy the Sons of Darkness. The division of the world into two factions is understood as a divine decree that precedes the creation of the world. In other words, there was current at Qumran a belief in “double” predestination (praedestinatio duplex):25 God determined who would be righteous and who wicked. “You, you alone have created the just man, and from the womb you determined him for the period of approval to keep your covenant...toopenallthenarrowness of his soul to eternal salvation and endless peace without want. And you have raised his glory above flesh. But thewickedyouhavecreated...fromthewombyouhavepredestined them for the day of slaughter. For they walk on a path that is not good...their soul loathes your [covenant]....Youhaveestablished all those . . . to carry out great judgments against them before the eyes of all your creatures” (1QHa 7.17-23). Both the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked are divinely predestined. As scholars have noted,26 the belief in double predestination does entail that its adherents passively submit to their fate. When the believers believe that as members of God’s lot they must act in accordance with God’s will, the praedestinatio duplex can provide them confidence and determination,27 “for all their deeds are in your truth” (1QHa 14.8-9). In addition to this confidence, the doctrine of double predestination can engender among its adherents an ideology of military activism (e.g., Cromwell’s puri-

25. I hope to demonstrate in a separate study that this doctrine made its way into Chris- tianity from the Qumran community or a sister movement. 26. See M. Weber, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionssoziologie (1922) 1.102, n. 2, and 1.11, n. 4. 27. Adding to Weber’s statements (cited in the previous note), I would point out that it is precisely the double predestination that exhorts its believers to action. The notion that God created both the righteous and the wicked recognizes these as moral categories. A person who feels that he has been selected to righteousness, and that his deeds are just, is confident in all his actions.

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tan soldiers), for the enemies of God’s select were indeed created to be punished. Moreover, the victory of the righteous over the Sons of Belial has been foreordained, and thus may be seen as a fait accompli. The War Scroll espouses the doctrine of predestination (see in particular 12.1-5) and believed that the enemies’ downfall at the hands of the sons of light is a foregone conclusion, since “we, in the lot of your truth, rejoice in your mighty hand... whose mighty hand is with the poor . . . since ancient time you determined the day of the great battle...tohumiliate darkness” (1QM 13.12-16). From these statements it is clear that the dualism, double predestination, and apocalypticism of the Qumran community could engender an activist ideology (as indeed happened in other movements), and, as the War Scroll clearly demonstrates, this activism took on a military form. Of course, this ideology is not limited to a single book. After all, the War Scroll was accepted within Qumran, so the hopes of its author were shared by the community, at least for a time. As we will see, even after the sect underwent a significant spiritual transformation, the Qumran community did not completely relinquish their activist stance,28 but rather postponed the earthly revolution to the distant future time. Apparently, the War Scroll came to be understood as referring to this more distant future.

The day of judgment awaited by the War Scroll’s author never came. The members of the community began to realize that “the final age will be extended and go beyond all that the prophets say, because the mysteries of God are wonderful” (1QpHab 7.7-8). When the Romans invaded, the Qumranites saw them — and not the members of the community — as the instruments of divine wrath against “the last priests of Jerusalem...[for]inthelast days their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (1QpHab 9.4-7). Were it not for the existence of elements that proved themselves mallea- ble to these new developments, the failure of the activist line might have sig- naled the collapse of the Community altogether. But the extant sources portray the Dead Sea community as a fascinating example of the evolution of a

28. Josephus famously describes the Essenes as pacifists, but he also tells of John the Essene, who fought valiantly against the Romans (BJ 2.567; 3.11, 19). It stands to reason that the Essenes — or at least some of them — were swept up in the national uprising against the Romans. Those who participated in the war probably felt that the predestined day of judgment had arrived.

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philosophy that manages to preserve itself only by altering the meaning of key concepts, even to the point of outright reversal. The activism that had earlier dominated now became a conditional pacifism. To be sure, the members of the Community did not relinquish their dream of ultimate victory, but they did allow that the time for this victory was not yet at hand. They are now “[those who keep] their nerve until the time of your judgments” (1QHa 6.4). The community bases this new position on the doctrine of double predestination, which itself undergoes a transformation. The same view that had previously emboldened the author of the War Scroll to outline a holy war aimed at annihilating the lot of Belial, now becomes an ideology of patient acceptance of the injustice that governs the world. The new logic is as follows: God predetermined the time of vengeance against the Sons of Darkness according to his secret wisdom, but has yet to reveal this time to his followers. It is incumbent upon the members of the sect to avoid any rash activity that might undermine the world order established by God since before creation, for “all who know you do not change your words. For you are just, and all your chosen ones are truth. All injustice and wickedness you obliterate for ever, and your justice is revealed to the eyes of all your creatures” (1QHa 6.15-16). Similarly we find admonitions to each member of the Community that “in this time...allthat happens to him he should welcome freely and be gratified by nothing except God’s will...[and] wish for nothing that he has not commanded and be ever alert to the precept of God” (1QS 9.24-25). In other words, he must acquiesce to the unjust decrees of the government of Belial that currently rules the world, since this too is God’s will and one cannot rise up against it. The day of judgment will surely come, but for now it is necessary “to reply with meekness to the haughty of spirit, and with a broken spirit to the men of the bending (of the Law), those who point the finger and speak evil” (1QS 11.1-2). It is from this spirit of acquiescence to the evil forces governing the world that the community member prays to God, promising: “I shall not repay anyone with an evil reward; with goodness I shall pursue man. For to God (belongs) the judgment of every living being, and it is he who pays man his wages. I shall not be jealous with a wicked spirit, and my soul shall not crave wealth by violence. I shall not be involved in any dispute with the men of the pit until the day of vengeance” (1QS 10.17-19). Josephus too recounts — in an almost precise parallel — that the Essene swears “to keep his hands from stealing and his soul pure from unholy gain” (BJ 2.141). But he omits to mention that they abstain from revolutionary activity only for a limited time — “until the day of vengeance.” The demand to acquiesce to those wielding worldly power has ramifications for one’s personal behavior: not only must one abstain from violence toward them, it is

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necessary to obey their political and economic demands. “In this time,” the Manual of Discipline enjoins “everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit. To them he should leave goods and hand-made items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed before someone domineering him. He should be a man enthusiastic for the decree and for its time, for the day of revenge. He should perform (God’s) will in all that his hand should tackle and in all that he controls, as he commanded” (1QS 9.21-24). Following the failure of the activist approach, the hatred of the men of the pit — the very people who are to be destroyed in the approaching day of vengeance — is buried under the facade of the absolute subjugation fitting of slaves! There is a further parallel between Josephus’s description of the Essenes and the scrolls, with regard to the acceptance of imperial authority. According to Josephus, they vow “to keep faith with all men, especially with the powers that be, since no ruler attains his office save by the will of God” (BJ 2.140). Here too Josephus makes no mention of the temporary nature of this subjec- tion, nor of the “everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit.” Did the Essenes manage to hide their hatred of society at large and their eagerness for the day of vengeance from Josephus, or did he omit these details because they did not fit with his portrait of the Essenes as Jewish phi- losophers, seekers of peace and brotherhood? Whatever the case, the Manual of Discipline and the Hodayot describe a community that refrains from evil and lovingly accepts their worldly suffering. Their outward behavior fits well with the ideal portrayal of the Essenes known from Josephus and Philo — assuming, of course, one overlooks the doctrine of eternal hatred and vengeance to which they secretly adhered. Like all Jewish movements, the Qumran community considered itself verus Israel, “Israel who walk in perfection” (1QS 9.6).29 But when their hopes of gaining political power came to naught, the hope of being identified as the sum total of the Jewish people was dashed as well. Only when the sinning Is- rael will be destroyed, only, then, in the eschaton, will the Community alone remain as the true Israel. As a result, the destruction of all the nations of the world — the main focus of the War Scroll — is almost wholly absent from the other scrolls. The contrast between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Dark- ness is limited, in practical terms, to sectarian hatred aimed at the rest of the Jewish people. The shift in the Yahad’s attitude toward mainstream Judaism finds expression in the content of the term berit, covenant. The author of the War

29. Manual of Discipline 8.12 reads “And when these come into being in Israel,” and the scribe added “a Yahad” above the line — perhaps an appositive gloss to ‘Israel’?

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The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview

Scroll knows of a single covenant, the one God forged at Sinai with “a nation of holy ones of the covenant” (1QM 10.10): “You established a covenant with our fathers and ratified it with their offspring for times eternal” (1QM 13.7-8). But in other scrolls, the word oyrb often signifies the teachings of the Sect, its rules and its commandments, to the exclusion of the remainder of the Jewish people: “for futile are all those who do not know the covenant” (1QS 5.19). This covenant is the result of God’s graceful selection of the Community, and so it is called “a covenant of grace (dsj oyrb)” (1QS 1.8). It is also referred to with the biblical eschatological name “new covenant” (CD 6.19; 8.21; 1QpHab 2.3). True, this “new covenant” does not — as Christianity would have it — nullify the old, but it is — as it is for Christianity — a sine qua non of salvation. The community of “God’s chosen” (1QpHab 10.13) has become a sect, in the technical sense of the word. The author of the War Scroll believed the members of the Community will ascend together from the desert of Jerusalem, seize the Temple, and their priests “shall take their positions at the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, in order to prepare the pleasant incense of God’s approval, to atone for all his congregation” (1QM 2.5), but when this vision failed to materialize, there developed a severe religious and practical difficulty: the members of the Yahad believe the Temple to be defiled and presently not able to be purified. How, then, can they maintain their religious obligations toward God while distant from the impure Temple? Their answer was to represent the commandments and special purity restrictions of the Yahad as a full and satisfactory substitute for the Temple service in which they never participated. In their words: “When these exist in Israel in accordance with these rules in order to establish the spirit of holiness in truth eternal, in order to atone for the guilt of iniquity and for the unfaithfulness of sin, and for approval for the earth, without the flesh of burnt offerings and without the fats of sacrifice — the offering of the lips in compliance with the decree will be like the pleasant aroma of justice and the perfectness of behavior will be acceptable like a freewill offering” (1QS 9.4-5). Indeed, the special commandments of the Qumran community are described as “pleasing atonement” (1QS 3.11).30 The men of the Yahad

30. Josephus and Philo refer to this issue in their description of the Essenes. Philo recounts that the Essenes “have shown themselves especially devout in the service of God, not by offering sacrifices of animals, but by resolving to sanctify their minds” (Quod om. Pr. 1.75; following F. H. Colson’s translation for the Loeb edition). And Josephus is referring to this as well in saying that “They send votive offering to the temple, but perform their sacrifices employing a different ritual of purification. For this reason they are barred from those precincts of the temple that are frequented by all the people and perform their rites by themselves” (AJ 18.19). Josephus’ account has given rise to various speculations as to the “offerings” of the Essenes. Some scholars suggested

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conclude that the defiled sanctuary in Jerusalem is not, in fact, the Temple — rather, the sect itself is the true Temple: “at that time the men of the Commu- nity shall set apart a holy house for Aaron, in order to form a most holy community, and a house for the Community for Israel, those who walk in perfection” (1QS 9.5-6; see also 8.4-11; CD 3.19-4.4). The elevation of the Temple to a spiritual-mystical symbol is for the God-community of the Yahad a response to their distance from the actual Temple services. The elevation of the Yahad itself to the status of a spiritual Temple provides the conceptual underpinnings for the special role of the priests in the community. It is likely no coincidence that immediately following the words of 1QS cited above, there follows: “Only the sons of Aaron will have authority in the matter of judgment and of goods, and their word will be definitive” (1QS 9.7).

The Essene psalmist who composed the Hodayot compares the men of the Yahad to “trees of life in the secret source, hidden among all the trees at the water” (1QHa 16.5-6). The Community lives in hiding, set apart from the evil world that refuses to recognize it: “He who causes the holy shoot to grow in the true plantation hides, not considered, not known, its sealed mystery. But you, O God, you protect its fruit with the mystery of powerful heroes and spirits of holiness, so that the flame of the searing fire will not reach the spring of life, nor with the everlasting trees will it drink the waters of holiness, nor produce its fruit” (1QHa 16.10-13). The small group of God’s select sits in the Judean desert, adhering to its teachings and commandments, and ab- staining from any activity “until the time of your judgment” (1QHa 6.4). For now, it is incumbent upon the Qumran community “to take root before they grow and their roots extend to the gully” (1QHa 16.7). They must drink the holy waters from the source of divine knowledge and immerse themselves in the wondrous secrets of God. What were the challenges facing the men of the Yahad in those days?

that the phrase diaforËthv |gne¾wn means “the distinction of the offerings,”failing to notice that this is merely a scholastic form of di}foroi |gne¾ai (the various offerings) of the Essenes, mentioned in BJ 2.159. (Compare di}foroi baptismo¾ in the Epistle to the Hebrews 9:10). This was apparently understood by H. Liezmann, Geschichte der alten Kirche (1937), 1.22. It should also be noted that the Latin translation of Antiquities (6th century) and the Epitome (10th or 11th century) read: jus¾av oÔk ›pitŸlousin diaforËthti |gne¾wn. This reading is not attested in any of the manuscripts, and it is clear that the oÔk has been inserted in a misguided attempt to emend the text and thus clarify its meaning.

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They delved deeply into the question of mankind, its natural baseness and the glory that God gracefully sets upon it. There emerged from within the Com- munity the spiritual doctrine of man’s election through divine grace, a doctrine that has so far been found only in the hymn appended to the Manual of Discipline and in the hymns of the Hodayot.31 The dualistic doctrine of Qumran asserted that there is a unity between the good and the pure, on one hand, and between the evil and the impure, on the other. The spirits of light engender “generous compassion with all the sons of truth, of magnificent purity which detests all unclean idols” (1QS 4.5), while to the spirit of deceit belong “appalling acts performed in a lustful pas- sion, filthy paths in the service of impurity” (1QS 4.10). The same identification of impurity and sin is heard in the words of the War Scroll: “Accursed be all the spirits of [Belial’s] lot for their wicked plan, may they be damned for their deeds of filthy uncleanness” (1QM 13.4-5).32 Like most apocalyptic thinkers, the members of the Qumran community believed that the present days are governed by the forces of deceit, or, to use their dualistic phraseology, the current era is “all the days of Belial’s dominion” (1QS 2.19; 1.23; and see also CD 4.12-13; 6.14; 12.23; 1QpHab 5.7). In light of this, the Manual of Discipline concludes, that if the world is currently under the dominion of Belial and his lot — the source of all impurity — then the world itself is in the realm of impurity. The world “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for the judgment decided” (1QS 4.19-20). Even mankind itself has been defiled in sin by the dominion of Belial, and will be restored only in the end of days, when the rule of evil is abolished. “Then God will refine, with his truth, all man’s deeds, and will purify for himself the structure of man, ripping out all spirit of injustice from the innermost part of his flesh, and cleansing him with the spirit of holiness from every wicked deed. He will sprinkle over him the spirit of truth like lustral water (in order to cleanse him) from

31. To be sure, the doctrine of man’s inherent impurity and election through divine grace is found only in liturgical texts. But this does not mean that the doctrine is limited to this genre, since the Manual of Discipline contains extended theological discussions, while the War Scroll contains numerous liturgical passages. It appears, then, that the doctrine is absent from the scrolls published thus far simply because it had not yet been formulated at the time of their composition. 32. Thus it is clear that the purification of the Yahad in the “waters of uncleanness” (hdyn ym) (1QS 3.4; 4.21) is tied to purification from sin (see also Isaiah 1:16; Ezekiel 36:25). Members of the community are enjoined as follows: “He should not go into the waters to share in the pure food of the men of holiness, for one is not cleansed unless one turns away from one’s wickedness, for he is unclean among all the transgressors of his word” (1QS 5.13-14, and see also 3.4-9).

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all the abhorrences of deceit and (from) the defilement of the unclean spirit” (1QS 4.20-22). The characterization of man as a creature who has been defiled by the dominion of Belial paves the way for a doctrine of mankind as inherently sin- fulanderrant—adoctrine that plays a central role both in the hymn appended to the Manual of Discipline and in the Hodayot.33 Manisnolongera creature that has become defiled, but “human uncleanness” (1QS 11.14-15) and “a sin of flesh” (1QS 11.12).34 These are the congenital conditions of one born of woman: man is “a creature of clay, fashioned with water, a foundation of shame and a source of impurity, an oven of iniquity and a building of sin, a spirit of error and depravity without knowledge” (1QHa 9.21-23); a base creature, innately governed by its sinful urges for “every impure abomination and guilt of unfaithfulness” (1QHa 19.11); a “structure of dust fashioned with water...shame of dishonor and source of impurity...andadepravedspirit rules over him” (1QHa 5.21-22); “he is in iniquity from his maternal womb, and in guilt of unfaithfulness right to old age” (1QHa 12.30). Disgust and revulsion in the face of man’s nature, as well as disdain for human society, are typical of those who would negate the world and flee from it, and it is to this category that the Qumran community clearly belongs. The scrolls posit an unbridgeable gap between mankind and God, for “To you, God of knowledge, belong all the works of justice and the foundation of truth; but to the sons of Adam belong the service of iniquity and the deeds of deception” (1QHa 9.26-27). Is there, then, a path of salvation for mankind from its own base and sinful nature? The members of God’s elect

33. In addition to these sources, there is one mention in the Damascus Document of the enemies having “defiled themselves with human sin and unclean paths” (CD 3.17). 34. The word ‘flesh’ (rqb) regularly refers in the Hodayot to man qua material creature who cannot be the agent of his own salvation. This sense appears to derive from biblical He- brew, where rqb refers, inter alia, to the human body, and rqb lc (‘all flesh’) is all living creatures. There are also a number of biblical verses that could cause a religious doctrine that disdains human nature to adopt the term as a designation of man’s corporeality and material being, for “evil belongs to humankind, to the assembly of the unfaithful flesh” (1QS 11.9). Among these verses are: “My [= God’s] breath shall not abide in man forever, since he too is flesh” (Gen. 6:3), “all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth” (Gen. 6:12), “in God I trust, I am not afraid, what can flesh do to me?” (Ps. 56:5), “He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breath that does not return” (Ps. 78:39), and others like these. Paul’s use of ‘flesh’ is identical to that found in the Hodayot (see, e.g., “the sin of the flesh” [1QS 11.12] and Romans 8:3), so this sense should be seen not as a Pauline innovation but rather a stage in the semantic development of the biblical term in certain Jewish circles. It is worth noting that the War Scroll usually employs the term to refer to the war cadavers, while the special sense of ‘flesh’ is unattested in this document.

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community know “that there is hope for someone you fashioned out of dust for an everlasting community. The depraved spirit you have purified from great offense” (1QHa 11.20, and see also 6.6; 9.14). God lifts up the man who desires him from his base destiny and purifies him of “the uncleanness of human being and from the sin of the sons of man” (1QS 11.14-15). This is done by bestowing upon man the divine spirit, for “the path of man is not secure except by the spirit which God creates for him” (1QHa 12.31). Indeed, God elevates his elect from the baseness of man to the sublime heights of the angels: “For the sake of your glory, you have purified man from offense, so that he can make himself holy for you from every impure abomination and guilt of unfaithfulness, to become united with the sons of your truth and in the lot with your holy ones, to raise the worms of the dead from the dust, to an everlasting community and from a depraved spirit to your knowledge, so that he can take his place in your presence with the perpetual host and the spirit... to renew him with everything that will exist and those who know in a community of jubilation” (1QHa 19.10-14). Needless to say, not all people are granted the gift of purifying spirit. The dualistic doctrine of Qumran asserts that only part of humanity has been elected to be counted among the righteous — and that part of humanity that God has chosen to purify of their defilement and sin is, of course, the members of the Yahad themselves. Man is “a creature of clay fashioned with water” (1QHa 9.21) and “unfaithful flesh” (1QS 11.9), and only the gift of spirit can purify and redeem him. There is, then, a dichotomy between the material element of human existence and the purifying spirit. Yet it should be noted that there has not yet been found in the scrolls an explicit contrast between materiality as such — or the material world — and the spiritual realm of the divine, a division that typifies a strand of Greek thought beginning with Plato and down through the various Gnostic movements.35 The scrolls do not negate the world as such. True, the Manual of Discipline asserts that the world “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice” (1QS 4.19), but it is not inherently a source of impurity. God established it as the place for the spirits of light and darkness (1QS 4.2), and even “created man to rule the world” (1QS 3.17-18). Moreover, the wondrous secrets of creation and the immutable laws governing the universe are proof of God’s greatness and singular will (1QHa 9.7-20). Indeed, these laws of righteousness only serve to highlight the nullity of mankind (1QHa 9.21-27).

35. It should be noted that up to now I have not found in the scrolls any identification of the lot of light with life and of evil with death, a correspondence attested both in pagan religions and in the early church.

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The view expressed in the Hodayot and the Manual of Discipline, according to which man is a base, defiled and impure creature, is organically tied to the passive version of divine predestination. According to this doctrine, everything is determined in advance solely according to God’s will, this being the sole source of all being, for “by his knowledge everything shall come into being, and all that does exist he establishes with his calculations and nothing is done outside him” (1QS 11.11). Thus, God has foreordained a particular individual to be righteous and one of God’s elect, since from “[God’s] hand is the perfection of the path” (1QS 11.10-11). It appears, then, that by the Community’s account, man’s corrupt nature prevents him from becoming righteous through his own agency, for man is a creature of “evil and unfaithful flesh” (1QS 11.9), and his works are bereft of value. Man is a base creature, helpless to raise himself up if not for God’s will: “I am dust and ashes, what can I plan if you do not wish it? What can I devise without your will? How can I be strong if you do not make me stand? How can I be learned if you do not mould me?” (1QHa 18.5-7). When God’s unique and absolute will decides to elevate one of his elect from the guilt and defilement that is otherwise his lot, when God decides to bridge the yawning chasm that divides him from helpless mankind, this divine judgment is not contingent upon human merit — for indeed there is no such thing — but rather upon the mercy and grace of the beneficent deity: “I know that no one besides you is just. I have appeased your face by the spirit which you have placed in me, to lavish your kindnesses on your servant forever, to purify me with your holy spirit, to bring me near by your will according to the extent of your kindnesses” (1QHa 8.19-21). The elect’s knowledge that he has been blessed with God’s grace, fills him with confidence and provides him with inner fortitude: “But when I remembered the strength of your hand and the abundance of your compas- sion36 I remained resolute and stood up; my spirit kept firmly in place in the face of affliction. For I leaned on your kindnesses and the abundance of your compassion. For you atone iniquity and cleanse man of his guilt through your justice” (1QHa 12.35-37). The doctrine of man’s election through preordained divine grace seeks to clarify the means by which an individual merits becoming one of the elect. It is a doctrine that reflects a religious sensibility that is concerned with individual salvation, which apparently dominated the

36. “The abundance of your compassion,” which appears in the holiday musaf liturgy, is an ellipsis of “your heart and your compassion” in Isaiah 63:15. The Greek translator of Isaiah understood vwmh as pl«jov, and so too in the scrolls we find fymjr vwmh paralleling owjyls bwr. This Hebrew phrase was translated similarly in the Epistle to the Ephesians (1:7): ploØtov t«v q}ritov aÔtoØ. Both 1QH and Ephesians use fymjr vwmh as a definition of the divine grace through which God designates His elect.

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Yahad at that time. According to this doctrine, the Community is the sum total of all the individual elect: “All the sons of your truth you bring to forgiveness in your presence, you purify them from their offences by the greatness of your goodness, and by the abundance of your compassion, to make them stand in your presence for ever and ever. For you are an eternal God and all your paths remain from eternity” (1QHa 15.29-32). And similarly: “For I know that shortly you will raise a survivor among your people, a remnant in your inheritance. You will purify them to cleanse them of guilt. For all their deeds are in your truth and in your kindness you judge them with an abundance of compassion and a multitude of forgiveness. According to your mouth you teach them, and according to the correctness of your truth, to establish them in your council for your glory” (1QHa 14.7-10). The Community, which is the only path to salvation, is not only the natural framework that encompasses all of God’s elect; adherence to the Yahad and observance of its laws are a necessary condition of redemption. Thus, membership in this fellowship of grace is itself one of the gracious acts that God has bestowed upon his chosen ones: “You, you alone, have created the righteous man...tokeepyourcovenant” (1QHa 7.17-18). Indeed, the elect’s recognition that it is the purifying holy spirit that beats in his heart as he is elevated “from a depraved spirit to Your knowledge” (1QHa 19.12), as well as the exoteric and esoteric doctrines of the Community — to which the members wholly devote themselves — all these are gracious acts of a beneficent God toward his elect: “And your compassion for all the sons of your approval, for you have taught them the basis of your truth, and have instructed them in your wonderful mysteries” (1QHa 19.9-10). In other words, the Community itself played a central role in the doctrine of God’s gracious salvation of man. This doctrine is of course not contrary to the accepted views within the Yahad regarding the cosmic role of the “community of God” in the processes that govern the universe, from its inception to its ultimate end, nor to the notion that the members of the Community will be handsomely rewarded in the end of days for their fidelity to the Yahad. The teaching that it is predestined divine grace that elevates one from the human impurity posits a sharp opposition between the vast majority of mankind, that is doomed, on the one hand, and the small number of elect who have been purified. Humanity is divided along a horizontal line, with a small group of individuals elevated above it through the will of God. This dichotomy is essentially different from the vertical division of the two camps facing off against one another — the lot of God and the lot of Belial, the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness — which is one of the key teachings of the War Scroll and of the Manual of Discipline. The Hodayot are aware of this division as well (see, e.g., 1QHa 7.17-32; 6.18-20), albeit in a much weaker form,37

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as the doctrine of the individual’s election out of the defiled state of mankind moves front and center. It is possible that the two doctrines of election are not, from a conceptual point of view, mutually exclusive, and thus may be found in conjunction.38 Another possibility is that the Qumranites reconciled the two doctrines by assuming that all of humanity is the lot of Belial, judging by its crooked ways, whereas only those purified of the “sins of mankind” are of the lot of light. The scrolls published thus far bear witness to three distinct stages in the Dead Sea Community’s doctrinal development. First, the division of the world into two hostile factions and the doctrine of predestination, which together served as the basis for bellicose activism (the War Scroll). Second, though the sect does not abdicate its activism altogether, it does postpone the destruction of the wicked to the more distant future and endorse a conditional pacifism. Their hatred of the surrounding society becomes “everlasting hatred...intheclandestine spirit,” as they maintain a façade of slavish submission to the regnant world order. This new position is based on a doctrine of divine predestination in its passive version: since the “ultimate end” has not yet come, members of the Yahad must not rebel against the will of God, but rather refrain from taking any action against the wicked (Manual of Dis- cipline, Hodayot). Finally, there emerges a doctrine of man’s predestined election out of a divine grace. This doctrine is based on the regnant views of the Yahad, that mankind is inherently defiled and sinful, and that the passive doctrine of predestination indicates that all human action is ultimately rooted in God’s will (Hodayot, the hymn appended to the Manual of Disci- pline). It appears, then, that after the political conditions of the day forced the Community to relinquish its activist approach, they adapted their teachings to the new reality and settled for a hidden hatred toward surrounding society, while nursing a hope for their eventual triumph. In time, however, the sect became enclosed within itself, turned away from the great masses of humanity that are steeped in the “impurity of man, the sinfulness of mankind.” Its members immersed themselves in the doctrine of man’s election through divine grace, a doctrine that showed them the way to their personal salvation.

37. It should be noted that “Belial” designates an angel of darkness in the War Scroll and in the Manual of Discipline, but ‘something bad, a transgression’ in the hymn appended to 1QS and in the Hodayot. This meaning is also reflected in the Septuagint, and see Flusser, “The Apocryphal Book of Ascensio Isaiae and the Dead Sea Sect,” Judaism and the Origins of Chris- tianity, 5, n. 6. 38. Indeed, the same two doctrines are attested in primitive Christianity. I hope to show elsewhere that their roots are in the Dead Sea Community, or affiliated circles.

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2. The Essene Worldview

In 1950 I published an article in which I summarized my views of the Essenes.1 Since then, many additional Qumran texts have been published, as well as en- lightening articles, but though new problems have arisen and altered the picture somewhat, the basic arguments remain pertinent today. The community that lived in Qumran was undoubtedly the Essenes, who are known to us from contemporary authors. When the study of the scrolls was in its infancy, Josephus was taken as the main guide to understanding their content. Today, the scrolls shed light on Josephus’s statements about the Essenes. It seems two main questions must be raised: First, which of the Qumran texts were written by the Yahad itself, and which by members of the apocalyptic movement from which the Essenes emerged? Second, in what areas did this strict sect allow for flexibility in matters of doctrine? For there is no question that the Essenes were a “doctrinal collective” that instituted a binding theological worldview. These are weighty questions, and absolute answers are hard to come by, among other reasons due to the fragmentary nature of the extant material. The composition of several apocryphal works can be located in the broad context out of which the Essene sect emerged, among them Jubilees, 1 Enoch, and the Testaments of the Patriarchs. There is also a composition that has been preserved in an early Christian text, Didache, which was also preserved independently in a Latin translation from Greek. Researchers have dubbed the text “The Two Ways.”2

1. See “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume. 2. See Flusser, “The Two Ways” (Hebrew) in the Hebrew edition of Judaism and the Ori-

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I begin with a short discussion of “The Two Ways,” which by all accounts is a Jewish text that has been incorporated into the Didache, and early Christian work from 100 c.e., approximately. Thus, “The Two Ways,” whose original language is Greek, was written no later than the first century c.e. It opens:

There are two ways in the world, one of life, the other of death, one of light, the other of darkness; upon them two angels are appointed, one of righteousness, the other of iniquity, and between the two ways there is a great difference. (1.1)3

The way of light is accompanied by fascinating ethical advice, while the way of darkness consists largely of an enumeration of sins. The author, of course, exhorts the reader to choose the path of life and avoid sin. The image of two ways is familiar from the Greeks, and is also attested in rabbinic literature. The dualism of this image fits well with the Essene spiritual worldview, but is at odds with the doctrine of predestination that is characteristic of the Essenes, according to which it is God who creates the righteous and the wicked. According to the doctrine of double predestination, the scope of human decision is extremely narrow, whereas the image of the two ways seeks to demonstrate to the reader that he has the freedom to choose between the way of life and the way of death. According to Rabbi Aqiva, this very decision was put to the first human: “God put before him two ways, the way of life and the way of death, and he chose for himself the way of death.”4 As noted, this is the opening image of the tractate “The Two Ways,” which has been preserved in the Christian Didache. The phrase cited above is similar to the well-known theological discussion in the Manual of Discipline (3.13–4.36), though there the goal is different: the theology seeks to provide a conceptual foundation for the Essene doctrine of double predestination, whereas the opening of “The Two Ways” holds that man must decide for himself which of the ways he chooses. Still, there is no question that “The Two Ways” exhibits literary ties to the theological tractate in 1QS, as a comparative analysis readily reveals. Here

gins of Christianity (Tel Aviv, 1979), 235-252; idem, “Which Is the Right Way That a Man Should Choose for Himself?” Tarbiz 60 (1991), 163-178. 3. See H. van de Sandt and D. Flusser, The Didache: Its Jewish Sources and Its Place in Early Judaism and Christianity (Assen and Minneapolis, 2002), 128. 4. Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael to Exodus 14:29, Mekilta de Rabbi Ishmael, J. Z. Lauterbach (trans.) (Philadelphia, 1933), 2.248. See also the Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai ad loc.; Pseudo-Philo’s Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, 13.8-9; 2 Enoch 2.15.

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we find that translating the Greek of Didache 3.7-8 yields a statement identical to that of 1QS 4.3: “It is a spirit of meekness, of patience, generous compassion, eternal goodness.” Not only is the terminology identical, they are listed in the same order. Thus there is clear evidence for the literary dependence of “The Two Ways” on the Manual of Discipline. How, then, can we explain this literary dependence, on the one hand, and the theological differences, on the other? The answer to this question appears to lie in the fact that the author of “The Two Ways” possessed an earlier version of the Manual of Discipline, in which the doctrine of double predestination — so central to the worldview of the Qumran Community — had not yet been inserted. According to Josephus, the Essenes believed “that Fate is mistress of all things, and that nothing befalls men unless it be in accordance with her decree” (AJ 13.172, and see also 18.18). Along the same lines we find the statement in the Manual of Discipline: “From the God of knowledge stems all there is and all there shall be. Before they existed he established their entire design. And when they have come into being, at their appointed time, they will execute all their works according to his glorious design, without altering anything” (1QS 3.15-16). The starting point of our analysis is the dictum of Rabbi Aqiva, cited above. According to his view, already the first human was given the choice be- tweentwoways—achoicesubsequently given to each and every human being: the way of life or the way of death. We may hypothesize that this was the original version of the theological tractate in the Manual of Discipline, before the Essene editor reworked it to fit the doctrine of predestination. The original wording no doubt stated that man must decide whether to walk in the path of righteousness, or in the path of wickedness. The image of two ways was not excised from the Manual of Discipline altogether, but now the decision which path to follow is no longer a matter of human choice, but of divine predestination. The editor made a number of textual changes, in order to promote his own position. It is possible that the hypothetical original version included a statement about the first human being presented with the choice between the two ways. The matter becomes clearer if we compare the extant version with the hypothetical original:

1QS 3.17-21 He created humanity (qwna) to rule the world And placed for him two spirits so that he would walk with them . . . They are the spirits of truth and of deceit... In the hand of the Prince of Lights is dominion over all the sons of justice;

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They walk on paths of light. And in the hand of the Angel of Darkness is total dominion over the sons of deceit; They walk on paths of darkness.

Reconstruction of the Earlier Version

He created man (fda) to rule the world And placed for him two ways so that he would walk with them... Theyarethewaysoftruthandofdeceit... In the hand of the Prince of Lights is the way of justice; Those who choose it walk on paths of light. And in the hand of the Angel of Darkness is the way of deceit; Those who choose it walk on paths of darkness.

There is also a striking similarity between “for God has sorted them intoequalparts...since they cannot walk together” in the Manual of Disci- pline (4.16-18) and the opening statement of “The Two Ways” (cited above). I have no doubt that the earlier version of the theological tractate in the Manual of Discipline originally stated that God “created man [and not just ‘humanity’] to rule the world” (3.17), since that is the language used in Gene- sis 1.26-28. Thus we learn — and not only from Rabbi Aqiva’s dictum — that God placed two ways in which to walk before the first human. It is hard to say what the (whole) theological tractate looked like before the Essene revision brought it in line with their doctrine of predestination. Irrespective, I have shown elsewhere,5 that the four terms that appear in the Manual of Discipline appear in the same order in “The Two Ways.” It stands to reason, then, that the author of “The Two Ways” knew, at least, the earlier version of 1QS 4.2-14, which includes the two opposing lists of the ways of light (4.2-8) and the ways of the wicked (4.9-14). These two lists served as paradigms for his parallel lists. Clearly, then, the doctrine of double predestination was the grand innovation of the Qumran community, as it crystallized into a sect with its particular doctrines, thus distinguishing itself from the broader apocalyptic movement. The conditions for such a move had appeared earlier. The literary works produced by this apocalyptic movement — e.g., 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the Testament of the Patriarchs — clearly emphasize the dualism of good and evil, both in the mortal world and in the world of the angels and spirits. These texts also record ‘Belial’ and ‘the Prince of Depravity’ (hmtqmh rq)asepi-

5. See above, n. 2.

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thets for the devil. Finally, they mention a community of God’s elect that does not include the People of Israel as a whole. These matters are more or less well established. In my opinion, we can further state with relative confidence that certain Qumran scrolls or compositions were written by the Essenes — using criteria not limited to the doctrine of predestination. It is much more complicated to determine which of these are purely sectarian works, and which have their origins in the circles that were close to the Essene sect. After all, even if a certain text or a certain passage does not reflect Essene ideology or terminology, this does not mean that it does not belong to the sectarian corpus; Essene authors were not required to demonstrate their adherence to the sect’s teachings in every word they wrote. The publication of Qumran fragments over the last several decades has made apparent the need to rethink the nature and scope of groups that grew along the periphery of the sect, because they refused to accept its government and its doctrine of predestination, in all its severity. It is quite possible that John the Baptist and his movement were situated on the margins of the Qumran community.6 It is also possible that both the Testament of the Patri- archs and “The Two Ways” were composed on the margins of the sect, and grew out of a polemic with its teachings, particularly predestination and the Essene interpretation of shared property. While the Testament of the Patriarchs and “The Two Ways” were composed, in Greek, on the margins of the Qumran community, they are based on sources that belong to the broader movement from which the Essene sect emerged. In any case, it appears these compositions date to before the establishment of the sect. Our analysis of “The Two Ways” clearly indicates that it is rooted in a pre-Essene version of the theological treatise within the Manual of Discipline. As for the Testament of the Patriarchs, it is possible that it too is based on earlier sources, since an earlier version of the Testament of Judah was one of the sources of the Book of Jubilees. The two cases at hand are typical of the crystallization of new religious movements, as well as movements in politics and philosophy. A new movement emerging from an existing framework will often turn to an earlier literary stratum of the mother movement. The use of earlier material, then, does not contradict the assertion that we are dealing with the periphery of the Essene sect. This is not the place for an in-depth exploration of the question of messianic hopes and the figure of the messiah or, more accurately, the three mes-

6. See my article, “John the Baptist and the Dead Sea Sect,” in the Hebrew edition of Ju- daism and the Origins of Christianity, 81-112. See also my book Jesus (Jerusalem, 1998).

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siahs: the offspring of the house of David, the high priest of the end of days, and the prophet identified in rabbinic literature as Elijah.7 The hopes for three messiahs were not limited to the sect. Already in 1 Maccabees, as part of the ‘appointment letter’ given by the Jewish people to Simon, the son of Mattathias, we find three roles critical to the proper functioning of the “State of Israel”: Simon will be “their leader and high priest forever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise” (1 Macc 14:41). The absent element is the renewal of the prophetic office, but this need is filled — according to the Hasmonean faithful — in the days of John Hyrcanus, Simon’s son. He united the three offices, being the political leader of Israel, the high priest, and a prophet (AJ 13.209, and see BJ 1.68). The belief in three messiahs found its way into Christianity as well, and its harbingers may be evident in the gospels. Already the Ebionites, a Jewish- Christian sect, held that the person of Jesus encompassed all three roles: the king, the high priest, and the prophet. The same idea appears in the writings of Eusebius, who adduces biblical prooftexts to show that the epithet ‘messiah’ (jyqm, anointed one) is applied to kings, prophets, and high priests. The notion that Jesus is king, prophet, and high priest, made its way from Catho- lic theology to one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin, and became one of the fundaments of Protestant doctrine. Thus, a Jewish idea attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls became one of the most important motifs in Christian theology. As noted, 1 Maccabees states that the people bestowed upon Simon the son of Mattathias both political power and the high priesthood, “until a trustworthy prophet should arise.” The phrase “trustworthy prophet” was used by the Ebionites in reference to Jesus, while the Sages emphasized the messianic king, the “son of David.” Both the prophet, Elijah, and the righteous priest were relegated by the Sages to the margins of their messianic expectations. Both the Essenes, and the broader movement from which they emerged, elevated the importance of the eschatological priest. For the Qumran community, like the Testament of the Patriarchs, priesthood is greater than kingship. This axiology is evident in the lofty status of priests within the sect, a sect whose founder, the Teacher of Righteousness, was himself a priest. Indeed, in a number of texts — both in the scrolls and in the Testament of Levi — the eschatological priest is elevated to super-human stature. I have mentioned the important contribution of the recently published texts to our understanding of Qumran’s eschatological doctrine. These texts

7. See my article, “The Reflection of Jewish Messianic Beliefs in Early Christianity” (He- brew), in Z. Baras (ed.), Messianism and Eschatology (Jerusalem, 1983), 103-134.

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emphasize the super-human aspect of the priest at the end of days. Of course, in this area as well, progress yields new questions. True, it stands to reason that the Qumran community believed that the eschatological priest will be one of their own Sons of Zadok, and it is possible that they once thought that the Messiah of the House of Aaron is the Teacher of Righteousness or, perhaps, his heir, the Interpreter of the Law. But how can this hope be reconciled with the midrash on Melchizedek uncovered among the fragments? There is no reason to assume that this work refers to an angel named Melchizedek. Clearly this Melchizedek is described as playing a role very similar to that of the Messiah of the House of Aaron, except that Melchizedek cannot be a scion to this house since he lived before Aaron. It is also evident that the super- human descriptions of the eschatological priest in the scrolls and the Testa- ment of Levi, and of Melchizedek in his eponymous scroll, are similar to the descriptions of the ‘son of man’ in the apocalyptic literature. That said, the Qumran scrolls have yet to yield a single explicit reference to the ‘son of man.’ This is doubly perplexing if we consider that John the Baptist, who was close to the Essenes, hoped for the advent of the ‘son of man,’ as the Gospels of Matthew and Luke plainly attest. We may assume that there was no uniformity of opinion among the members of the Qumran community with regard to the details of their eschatological doctrine. It is possible that strict discipline was not enforced, and that the sect did not consider significant disagreements in this area. Still, the most important shift may occur in the study of early Christianity, more specifically, in the question of Jesus’ own messianic consciousness. Some Christian scholars have denied he had any messianic consciousness, assuming that the church invented this doctrine after Jesus’ death. The Qumran texts that have been published of late suggest that the idea of a super-human messianic figure circulated in Jewish apocalyptic circles long before Jesus’ time. In truth, rabbinic Judaism never accepted this messianic mythology, and Jesus himself belonged, ultimately, to Pharisaic-Rabbinic Judaism. But Jesus was not a pure Pharisee, and he had access to the mythological aspects of Jewish apocalypticism, particularly with regard to the role of the messiah — no doubt under Essene influence. Now, with the publication of the new Qumran fragments, it is no longer possible to assert that this “Christology” was created by the church after Jesus’ tragic death, since these motifs circulated prior to his death. If we wish to make progress in this fascinating field, we must refresh our questions, and cast anew a critical eye on the synoptic gospels, which are, of course, our primary source of information concerning the historical Jesus.

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3. The Economic Ideology of Qumran

The present article is concerned with the famous Dead Sea community, fragments of whose library — including a number of complete scrolls — were discovered in the caves of Qumran. There is no question that the group in question is the Essenes, one of the three Jewish schools of the Second Temple period, who are discussed in the works of Josephus Flavius and Philo of Alex- andria, the famous Jewish philosopher. It is relatively easy to prove that the Qumranites were the Essenes, both as a matter of overall identification, and in a detailed and minute investigation. One of the criteria for this identification is the presence of two key doctrines in the Dead Sea Scrolls that are cited as Essene by Josephus. I am referring to the doctrine of double predestination, and the demand of every member to share his property. I begin with a discussion of double predestination, a religious- philosophical doctrine with important ramifications for the economic ideology of Qumran. The concept of free will is widely held to be one of the great achievements of Judaism — without entering into the complications that arise from the juxtaposition of free will and a single, omniscient God that governs all. I must admit that I too have a difficult time imagining a form of Judaism that does not maintain a mutual dialogue between mankind and its creator. However, we must bear in mind the logical difficulties alluded to just now: how can man possess free will when God knows everything and determines the course of events? This is not the place to enter into this discussion, but the issue is important inasmuch as it may help us to understand the position of divine predestination, which radically limits or even negates man’s free choice. This was the position of the Essenes at Qumran. Josephus dis-

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cusses the Essene doctrine of divine predestination, and we find explicit discussion of it in the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves. According to Josephus, the three Jewish schools of his day were divided on this matter. As noted, the Essenes believed in an absolute divine predetermination: man is helpless in the face of God’s decrees. The Pharisees — who fathered Rabbinic Judaism in its development from its origins to the present — accepted the idea of divine providence, but held that man is, in some sense, God’s partner. That is, mankind is given the power to influence and even alter events, in accordance with his behavior — be it through repentance and good deeds, or through his transgressions. The Sadducees, the third group, took a completely different tack, arguing that any divine supervision is extraneous, since man is responsible for his deeds and for the ensuing results. One of the conceptual difficulties that arise from the doctrine of absolute divine predestination, involves the existence of evil—aproblem that is found in more or less acute versions in any religious system that includes divine providence. If everything comes into being in accordance with God’s will, must we not conclude that the good and beneficent God is also the author of evil? The Qumran scrolls not only failed to resolve this difficulty, but repeatedly asserted that God had indeed created evil, as well as wicked and sinful people. That is, they established a dualistic system, according to which the world is emphatically divided into good and evil, and there exists a camp of evil spirits, headed by Belial, the Prince of Darkness, and all this is in accordance with God’s will! Alongside the doctrine of divine predestination, the Essenes maintained a radical dualism that divides humanity into the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. The combination of predestination and dualism is referred to in scholarly discourse as the doctrine of double predestination. Incidentally, this teaching is not limited to the Qumran community, but found its way into certain Christian groups who were apparently influenced by the Essene theology on this point. Before we come to the economic ideology of the Dead Sea community, we must first indicate a number of conclusions that follow from their theological worldview. Evil will not, of course, endure. According to the scrolls, God has placed eternal enmity between the faction of righteousness and the faction of evil, and in the end of days there will be a war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, at the conclusion of which the wicked will be destroyed, and with them the dominion of darkness. This war, which was described in detail in a unique text published by the late Yigael Yadin, will last forty years, and in its course the Sons of Light will conquer the entire world. The enemies to be annihilated are not only the nations of the world, but the members of the Jewish people that refuse to accept the ways of the Qumran

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sect. Indeed, the scrolls clearly hold that Israel itself is divided into the Sons of Light, God’s elect, and the Sons of Darkness. Even before the discovery of the scrolls, there were scholars who argued that the Essene doctrine of double predestination served as a conceptual grounding for their sense that they and only they are God’s elect. In other words, their theology was forged in order to justify their sense of superiority, and their tendency to break off from Jewish society as a whole. And indeed, the scrolls repeatedly emphasize the chasm that lies between them and the rest of the Jewish people. The members of the Community are referred to as the chosen ones of God, while the rest of the Jewish people are sinners. But, according to the scrolls, the separatist tendency of the Sons of Light is not only a question of theoretical worldview, nor merely a way of distinguishing a political-religious group from the other factions of the day. The Essenes, who considered themselves God’s elect, expressed their unique character through a sectarian lifestyle, characterized by a rigid communal structure and special ordinances, attested both in Josephus’s account of the Essenes and in the Qumran scrolls themselves, particularly in the Manual of Discipline. Accord- ing to both Josephus and Philo, the sect numbered some forty thousand full members, but its ideological and theological influence on the Jewish people as a whole was great. Both Josephus and Philo point to the uniquely Essene practice of shared wealth, what effectively amounts to the abolition of private property. This is a well-established fact, and need not detain us here. It is significant that communal property is attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is not the place for an extended discussion of the sources, but I will cite two brief passages: “All those who submit freely to His truth will convey all their knowledge, their energies, and their riches to the Community of God” (1QS 1.11-12); “[the initiate’s] possessions and his earnings will also be joined at the hand of the Inspector of the earnings of the Many” (1QS 6.19-20). The ancient authorities mentioned above, as well as the scrolls, provide a wealth of information about the precise nature of this communal property, as well as the role of the Inspector. The idea of shared wealth played an important role in the overall ideology of the Dead Sea Community. Analysis of this unique phenomenon reveals that it is linked to broader economic issues in the sect’s worldview. In- deed, there is a causal connection between the Essene doctrine of shared wealth, on the one hand, and their religious, social, and political teachings, on the other. A thorough discussion of the rich and varied ramifications of this Essene doctrine may shed light on the mutual influences of economics, religion, and politics in other groups, during other times, living under different circumstances.

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One approach to the Essenes’ shared wealth is from parallel groups in Christian sects that existed from those days down to the present. This phenomenon, which appears time and again in the Christian world, has its origins in the Essene teachings. Indeed, today it is evident that the Essenes had a considerable impact on all the movement within early Christianity, as it emerged in the late Second Temple period. The sources indicate that communal property was instituted in the Jerusalem Church, as described in Acts 2.44-45, a description that spawned many imitations among radical Christian communities in the Middle Ages and modern era. To my knowledge, the first of these were the Hussites, in 15th century Bohemia, whose center was the city Tabor. Over time, other Christian sects emerged that adopted a life of shared wealth, particularly in the United States and Canada. I spent time on a Cana- dian agricultural sectarian commune, among other reasons to learn how shared property works in religious communities, in the hopes of learning about the life of the Essenes and the ideological issues that emerge from such communities. There are those who argue that these non-Jewish agricultural communes influenced the kibbutz movement in its infancy. If so, it appears that the roots of the kibbutz phenomenon lead back to the Dead Sea community. In any case, there is evident and understandable interest among the kibbutzim in the Essene sect, interest that predates the discovery of the scrolls. Unlike the Israeli kibbutzim, the members of the Canadian agricultural commune knew nothing about the organization of the ancient Essenes. Strik- ingly, these Canadians, who lived according to a strict code enjoining shared property, developed an ideology similar to that of the Qumran community. Thus, for example, they had to face the problem of economic ties with the outside world. For them, as for the Essenes, such ties were, of course, necessary, but were restricted to certain staff members. Similarly, the Essenes placed outside economic ties under the jurisdiction of the inspectors, already mentioned above, who were charged primarily with the economic life of the community. Clearly, any group that adopts the principle of shared property will experience some tension with the outside world and its different customs. The members of the Canadian commune, and other groups like it or affiliated with it, saw outsiders as erring, almost lost, since they did not possess the proper belief. And they, like the ancient Essenes, felt themselves clearly superior to the outsiders, God’s only select, who are promised a place in the world to come. Shared property creates a social and an ideological separatism, an ideology that finds robust expression in the Qumran texts. I hope it is now clear why I had to preface the present topic with a discussion of the Essene dualism of light and darkness and their doctrine of

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double predestination. They believed that they were selected by God, from the very beginning of time, to be his chosen ones, to confront the others — including the rest of the Jewish world — who are nothing more than the Sons of Darkness, doomed to eternal infamy. The Qumran scrolls demonstrate the integral role of shared property in the worldview of the sect. I could explore in some detail the conceptual and practical links between the high level of ritual purity enforced at Qumran and the sharing of property. Anyone familiar with the Talmudic sources knows the different levels of ritual purity Jews could adopt, be it as individuals or as groups, each according to his choice. But for those who do not know these texts, suffice it to say that the highest level of ritual purity distinguished the Essenes from the rest of the Jewish people, whom they considered impure. Shared property probably assisted them in maintaining their purity. Philo notes that sharing property helped the sect avoid a raft of social problems. They did not have rich and poor members, since all could live in peace from the common wealth. That was the economic reality. From an ideological perspective, however, shared property entailed an idealization of poverty and a concurrent disdain for wealth. In this too the Essenes were not unique, though it is certainly not the case that all communal groups share this view. It is certainly possible that resistance to economic oppression and to the growing ranks of the newly rich, quite prevalent in those days, was among the catalysts for the formation of the Qumran community. In any case, in seeing poverty as a full-fledged religious ideal and disparaging wealth, the Essenes parted ways with the wealthy Sadducees and with the Pharisees, the progeni- tors of rabbinic Judaism. This is not to suggest, of course, that the sages loved riches and supported the accumulation of wealth; they were, after all, committed to social justice. But it is evident that they do not view poverty as a desirable trait or a religious ideal, but rather a defect that should be minimized to the extent possible, through the institution of decrees and regulations, as well as though charity and acts of loving-kindness. The Essenes, in casting poverty as a religious ideal and disparaging wealth, influenced certain movements within Christianity, an influence that is evident already in the teachings of its founder. The discussion thus far clearly suggests that the Jewish sect whose writings were discovered in the Dead Sea region was, to use a modern terminology, a group of radical revolutionaries — a characterization it shares with other, non-Jewish communities, that embraced poverty and adopted the principle of shared property. The Essene resistance to economic oppression — not only aimed at Jews, but also the oppression of gentiles at the hands of the last of the Maccabee rulers — aroused their interest in the social and po-

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litical changes occurring in their world. As a result, the members of the sect and its authors became aware of the social injustices perpetuated by various kingdoms, and particularly the Roman empire, whose greed drove them to conquer kingdoms and enslave whole nations. Among the scrolls are a number of texts that provide invaluable information concerning the negative aspects of Roman imperialism. The present context allows for only a brief discussion of Qumran’s economy and broader worldview. My primary intent was to introduce the reader to the great contribution made by the Qumran scrolls to our understanding of Second Temple Judaism, and to the general character of the Dead Sea community. Frank Moore Cross and Esther Eshel have recently published a Qumran text that is relevant to the present discussion.1 According to the publishers, this text, which was composed in Jericho in the first half of the first century c.e., records the declaration of one Honi ben Elazar that he is contributing to the Qumran community (the Yahad) his property, including a house in Holon, fig and olive trees, and his servant named Hisdai. It appears to be the contribution of the initiate to the sect, ‘anyone from Israel who freely volunteers’ in the idiom of the scrolls (1QS 6.13), following his first probationary year. At the end of his second probationary year, his property will be sold and the proceedings channeled to the common fund of the community, thus marking the initiate’s acceptance into the sect and elevation to status of member (see 1QS 6.18-24). The newly discovered text provides external proof for the basic historical reliability of the initiation process to another Second Temple Jewish sect, namely the description found in Acts 4:34: “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.”It should be noted that the practice of shared property was an innovation found among Jesus’ disciples in the Jerusalem church. According to the gospels, neither the community that formed around Jesus during his lifetime, nor the followers of John the Baptist, adopted the principle of shared property — contrary to the contemporary practice at Qumran. This appears, then, to be a case of Essene influence on the followers of Jesus, influence that became evident only after his death.

1. Frank Moore Cross and Esther Eshel, “Ostraca from Khirbet Qumran,” Israel Explora- tion Journal 47 (1997), 17-28.

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4. Medicine and Qumran

Dedicated to Prof. Abraham (Teddy) Weiss

The Wisdom of Ben Sira, which was composed at or around 185 b.c.e.,contains a beautiful chapter in which Ben Sira praises doctors and the science of medicine (38.1-15). He is referring to conventional medicine, not some “alternative” medicine, though the latter was very common in the ancient world, so much so that it was difficult to distinguish between “conventional” medicine and medicine that involved exorcism and spirits. This distinction will become clearer in a moment, when we examine the medicine practiced in the Essene sect, which has rightly been identified as the group that lived at Qumran. Fol- lowing the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it became evident that this famous community grew out of a broader apocalyptic movement. This community composed a number of literary works, including Jubilees (from the second century b.c.e.), the texts that make up 1 Enoch, a rough contemporary of Jubilees that displays a great deal of similarity from a literary and other perspectives, in its literary and religious aspects, and the scroll known as the Genesis Apocryphon, discovered at Qumran. We begin with Josephus’ account of the Essenes (BJ 2.136). He writes that they “display an extraordinary interest in the writings of the ancients, singling out in particular those which make for the welfare of soul and body; with the help of these, and with a view to the treatment of diseases, they make investigations into medicinal roots and properties of stones.” Concerning the benefits and risks of different stones, this was an ancient view that still has its adherents today. For instance, the amethyst was thought to protect against inebriation — indeed, the name a-methyst is Greek for ‘no inebriation.’ What were the ancient texts from which the Essenes learned to cure ill-

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Medicine and Qumran

nesses? The Essenes undoubtedly possessed the Book of Cures that Noah supposedly passed down to his son, Shem. We learn of such a ‘Noah Book’ from Jubilees (10.1-14), Hebrew fragments of which were uncovered in the Qumran caves. According to Jubilees, one of the angels taught Noah how to heal all diseases, so that he might use the plants of the earth to cure them: “And the healing of all their illnesses together with their seductions we told Noah so that he might heal by means of herbs of the earth. And Noah wrote everything in a book just as we taught him according to every kind of healing... and he gave everything which he wrote to Shem, his oldest son” (Jubilees 10.12-13).1 It is striking that this chapter has a rough parallel in the introduction to Sefer Assaf ha-Rofe (‘The Book of Assaf, the Healer’) and scholars have not been able to explain how this account found its way into a medieval He- brew book. There was a strong similarity between Essene medicine and the various exorcisms which were borderline witchcraft and prohibited to Jews. There is no question that the people in the movement from which the Essene sect emerged were aware of the ambivalence in these areas of medicine. Nonethe- less, the Book of Enoch tells of the wicked sons of angels that “took wives for themselves from all they chose” (Gen. 6:2), and taught mankind “magical medicine, incantations, the cutting of roots, and plants” (Enoch 7.1; 8.3).2 If so, the very same herbal cures found among the Essenes, and which are described in Jubilees (10.1-14) and the gift of an angel (Raphael the Healer) to Noah, are described in the Book of Enoch together with incantations, as part of the deleterious teachings the wicked angels passed on to mankind. The Genesis Apocryphon, which was composed in Aramaic, speaks of the great afflictions (column 20, based on Genesis 12:17) that were visited upon Pharaoh because of Abraham’s wife, Sarai. Pharaoh asked Abraham to pray for him, “and he laid his hands upon him.”And when Sarai was returned to him, Abraham prayed for Pharaoh and laid his hands upon his head. The biblical account does not mention Abraham laying his hands on Pharaoh’s head. Indeed, this mode of healing is not mentioned in the entire Bi- ble, nor in the Talmud. This healing practice is known from the stories of Jesus. And now we find in a Jewish text, composed before Jesus (and which contains not a trace of Christianity), evidence that the Essenes themselves used to heal the sick by the laying on of hands. Thus, the Dead Sea Scrolls have enriched our knowledge of the history of this alternative medical practice.

1. O. S. Wintermute, translator, from J. H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseud- epigrapha (New York, 1985), 2.76. 2. E. Isaac, translator, in Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1.16.

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5. A Pre-Gnostic Concept in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Dedicated to my friend, Shlomo Pines

Upon the discovery of its literature, the Dead Sea community became a leading candidate to be one of the important forerunners of the Gnostic worldview,1 in light of its unique ideology. Like the various Gnostic movements, the Dead Sea Scrolls emphasize the secrecy of its doctrines, while maintaining a starkly dualistic approach to humanity and the world, a world that it pessimistically views as given to the dominion of darkness. The Qumran worldview is also similar to Gnosticism in its firm belief that, in the end, “when those born of sin are locked up, evil will disappear before justice as darkness disappears before light. As smoke vanishes, and no longer exists, so will evil vanish forever. And justice will be revealed like the sun which regulates the world....Andknowl- edge will pervade the world, and there will never be folly there” (1Q27 [1QMysteries] 1.5-7).2 And yet, these traits, while unquestionably significant, do not prove that this Jewish sect contained a set of ideas that could serve as the raw material for the creation of a Gnostic myth. I believe I have found in one of the scrolls evidence for a concept that could pave the way for an explicitly Gnos- tic notion, but may also be understood as following from the sect’s own worldview. Still, the concept in question is somewhat atypical of Qumran’s mainstream ideology, and as such holds particular interest. The Qumran community believed that this interesting and unique concept exists — in nuce and only if interpreted as a cosmic or meta-historical

1. See G. Stroumsa’s article on gnosis in Judaica (1988), 15-30, especially pages 18, 25, and 28, n. 18. See also Ithamar Gruenwald, From Apocalypticism to Gnosticism (Tel Aviv, 1988). 2. See also Megillat ha-Hodayot, J. Licht (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1957), 242.

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statement — in the prophecy of Habakkuk: “The Torah becomes slack and justice never emerges in victory. The wicked surround the righteous — therefore justice emerges perverted” (Hab. 1:4).3 Needless to say, it is certainly possible to interpret this verse in the manner of the Pesharim, as referring to the sacred history of the sect. This is, indeed, the approach of Pesher Habakkuk: “So the Torah becomes slack [The interpretation of this is] that they have rejected the Law of God. The wicked surround the righteous [Its interpretation: the wicked is the Wicked Priest and the righteous] is the Teacher of Righ- teousness...”(1QpHab 1.10-13). Despite its fragmentary nature,4 it is clear that we are dealing with a concrete, historically grounded interpretation: the righteous is identified with the Teacher of Righteousness, while the wicked who pursues him is the Wicked Priest. The Manual of Discipline offers a completely different reading of this very verse (1QS 4.19-21), but before turning to discuss this new mode of interpretation, we must first cite Matthew 12:18-21. Immediately prior to this passage — a citation from Isaiah 42:1-45 — we are told that Jesus ordered those present not to make known his healing. This prohibition is offered “to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah” (Matt. 12:17), and then Matthew cites Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Lord’s servant, that he “will not cry or lift up his voice, nor make it heard in the street” (Isa. 42:2). The connection between the story and the prooftext is fairly flimsy, and it stands to reason that the Greek editor reworked the passage before inserting it into Mat- thew’s narrative. The critical point for our investigation is that Matthew 12:20 quotes Isaiah as saying that the servant will not cry out “. . . until justice emerges in victory (tpqm jxnl ayxy de),” but in fact Isaiah 42:4 reads “. . . until he has established justice on the earth” (tpqm urab fyqy de). Clearly, then, we have here a composite of two priestly teachings: those of Isa- iah, and those of Habakkuk, who proclaims “and justice never emerges in victory” (Hab 1:4).6 The juxtaposition is probably due to the similarity between Habakkuk’s words and Isaiah’s statements that the Lord’s servant “will bring

3. Translator’s note: the Hebrew jxnl can mean “forever” or “in victory.” The present translation incorporates both meanings (‘never’ = not forever), as they are germane to Flusser’s analysis. 4. The end of the verse, “therefore justice emerges deformed,” is attested in the Pesher, but its interpretation is lost. Incidentally, both Pesher Habakkuk and the Septuagint read lkem tpqmh for the Masoretic tpqm lkem. 5. See K. Stendahl, The School of St. Matthew and Its Use of the Old Testament (Philadel- phia, 1969), 107-115. Stendahl uses this passage, and others like it, to reach conclusions regarding the social background against which the Gospel of Matthew was composed. See also n. 9, below. 6. See also Stendahl, The School of St. Matthew, 113-114.

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forth justice to the nations” (42:1) and “will bring forth justice in truth” (42:3).7 It seems, moreover, that this fertile cross-pollination between Isaiah 42:1-4 and Habakkuk 1:4 is found in two other passages in the scrolls, to be discussed below (though this does not necessarily indicate the juxtaposition originated in the scrolls). For now it should be noted that both according to Matthew 12:18-21 and the two passages in the other scrolls, Habakkuk 1:4 will undergo a profound transformation in the end of days: Habakkuk states that “justice never emerges in victory” because evil has dominion over the world; this is also the reason that “justice emerges perverted.”8 In the end of days, however, a great change will occur in our world, and then “justice will prevail” indeed. Both the scrolls and Matthew anchor this hope in the contrast between Habakkuk’s “justice never emerges in victory” (1:4) and Isaiah’s description of the Lord’s servant who “will bring forth justice to the nations” (42:1) and “will bring forth justice in truth” (42:3). As noted, Matthew’s citation (12:18-21) of Isaiah 42:1-4 reads “until justice prevails forever” (12:20), rather than “will bring forth justice in truth” (42:3), and this change is due to the influence of Habakkuk 1:4.9 Interestingly, the word ‘truth,’that is missing in Matthew, plays a key role in the two parallel passages from Qumran. The first is found in 1QHa 12.24-25,10 where the poet — one of the leaders of the sect — addresses God, saying:

Those who walk on the path of your heart have listened to me; They have aligned themselves before you in the council of the holy ones. You will bring forth their justice, And truth for the righteous.

It is clear that the latter half of this quote combines Habakkuk’s statement “justice never emerges in victory” (1:4), with Isaiah’s “will bring forth

7. As far as I know, biblical citations of the type found in Matthew 12:18-21 are unique to this work and are not found in the other gospels. There are, however, composite citations in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the New Testament epistles. An outstanding example is Romans 11:21-27. I have discussed this phenomenon in my article, “Today If You Will Listen to His Voice: Creative Jewish Exegesis in Hebrews 3–4,”B. Uffenheimer and H. Reventlow (eds.), Creative Biblical Exe- gesis: Jewish and Christian Hermeneutics Through the Centuries (JSOTSup 59; Sheffield, 1988), 55-62. 8. See above, note 6. 9. The words “until justice prevails forever” in Matthew 12:20 also reflect the phrase “until he has established justice in the earth” in Isaiah 42:4, since Matthew skipped over the word “He will not grow faint or be crushed” in the opening of the verse. 10. See also Megillat ha-Hodayot, 94-95, where the rhyme structure is different.

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A Pre-Gnostic Concept in the Dead Sea Scrolls

justice in truth” (42:3). Thus, the parallelism equates ‘truth’ and ‘justice’. As the context clearly indicates, the leader of the sect is expressing his firm belief that God will indeed save the members of the community from the plottings of its enemies. It is, of course, possible that some of the motifs in this passage are tied to the community’s hope for an eschatological redemption — indeed, the next passage will show that the eschatological process has been transferred to the hope for present-day salvation — but all the same, the poem does not display any markedly eschatological traits. The second and decisive Qumran passage that combines Isaiah 42:1-3 with Habakkuk 1:4 appears in the Manual of Discipline, at the very beginning of the eschatological discussion, which includes a description of the total annihilation of all evil in the end of days. The verses in question parallel the passage from 1QMysteries, with which we opened the present discussion. Here is the relevant citation (1QS 4.18-20):

God, in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom of his glory, has determined an end to existence of injustice and on the appointed time of the visitation he will obliterate it forever. Then the world truth shall emerge in victory, for it has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for justice decided.11

Concerning the biblical background to this passage, it appears that the key lies in Isaiah 42:3: “he will bring forth justice in truth.”This verse appears to have influenced the author’s understanding of Habakkuk 1:4. According to the latter, “justice never emerges in victory” in the present era, because of the dominion of iniquity that causes justice to “come forth perverted.” The similarity between Isaiah and Habakkuk allows the interpreter to identify ‘justice’ with ‘truth,’ as the parallel in 1QHa 4.25 already demonstrated. As for why the poet speaks of ‘world truth,’ we will return to this question anon. The key issue is that the Qumran community was able to discover in this verse an important proclamation. The prophet teaches: “The Torah becomes slack and justice never emerges in victory. The wicked surround the righteous — therefore justice emerges perverted” (Hab. 1:4). To the Qumran reader, this means that the world will remain in dire straits until evil is banished from it. For as long as the wicked surround the righteous, justice never emerges in victory, or, in other words, the justice that does come forth under these conditions cannot but be perverted. In the future time, however, when wickedness is annihilated, “world truth shall emerge in victory.”

11. See Megillat ha-Serachim, J. Licht (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1965), 102-103.

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Our discussion of the Manual of Discipline passage has thus far been superficial. A profound understanding of its meaning requires that we examine the broader context (1QS 4.18-23), of which our verses are an integral part.12 The passage includes the description of the baptism of the spirit in the end of days (1QS 4.20-22), a critically important component, since John the Baptist makes his followers the same promise.13 This promise is a link within the narrative chain of the broader passage, that seeks to delineate the various stages of the total ablution of mankind and the world, a process that will occur following the eschatological destruction of all evil, “when those born of sin are locked up” (1QMyst 1.5). When the appointed time comes, and God destroys all evil from the world, the truth will subsequently emerge from the ways of iniquity that defiled it under the dominion of sin. Then God will purify mankind as well: “He will sprinkle over him the spirit of truth like lustral water (in order to cleanse him) from all the abhorrences of deceit and (from) the defilement of the unclean spirit” (1QS 4.21-22).14 The baptism of the purifying spirit serves to banish from mankind every trace of the tainted and defiled human nature that is now his lot. Man will be transformed from a base and despised creature, to an altogether new being, pure in both flesh and spirit. Then will the purified and redeemed man be able “to instruct15 the upright ones with knowledge of the Most High, and to make understand the wisdom of the sons of heaven to those of perfect behavior. For those God has chosen for an everlasting covenant and to them shall belong the glory of Adam” (1QS 4.22-23).16 Thus, the scroll’s comments on the change in the status of “world truth”

12. See Megillat ha-Serachim, 102-104. 13. Regarding this matter see D. Flusser, “John’s Baptism and the Qumran Sect” (He- brew), in Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem, 1982), 81-112, and especially 93-103. 14. Regarding the purification of the ‘world truth,’ it is not said explicitly that this will be done by God. Perhaps they believed — following the particular logic of this kind of religious thought — that the impurity of the ‘world truth’ will disappear at that point of its own accord, without any additional action from the spirit of holiness. 15. Here, as in the other scrolls (with the possible exception of 4QMMT), the verb vybhl is transitive, and note the parallelism with lycqhl. 16. See Licht’s comments ad loc., Megillat ha-Serachim, 104. Also, Marböck, Henoch Adam, “Der Thronwagen,” Biblische Zeitschrift, N. F. 25, Paderborn 1981, 102-111; P. W. Skehan and A. A. Di Lella, “The Wisdom of Ben Sira,” The Anchor Bible (New York, 1987), 545. The editors link the “glory of Adam” in 1QS 4.23 with the “splendor of Adam” in Ben Sira 49.16. See also 1QHa 4.15; CD 3.20; and the Pesher to Psalm 37 3.1-2. On this last source see Maurya P. Horgan, Pesharim, 1.53, and 2.214. Whether the scrolls are referring here to the splendor of Adam, or perhaps — as Licht suggests — God’s elect will receive the splendor that is due all humanity, remains an open question.

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(1QS 4.19-20) are not part of a single picture, unfolding before us the sublime purification and elevation of creation in the end of day, after the annihilation of all evil. Only now, when we have cast our net more widely, can we trace the true meaning of this concept, which involves the redemption of “world truth” from its impurity. As noted above, from a purely interpretive standpoint, one would expect the author to refer to ‘truth’ simpliciter, not “world truth”.After all, the importance of the concept ‘truth’ in Qumran’s religious worldview is readily apparent. Indeed, one of the manuscripts of the Manual of Discipline (8.18) employs the word ‘truth’ in place of the Tetragrammaton.17 So it is clear that the author had some reason to prefer the version “world truth”.After all, in the very same scroll we learn that “these are the foundations of the spirit of the sons of truth (in) the world” (1QS 4.6), whereas other passages speak of “sons of truth.”18 Now, the word jxn can mean eternity in Qumran Hebrew, as we find, e.g., in 1QS 3.8. But the statement “world truth shall emerge jxnl” draws on Habakkuk 1:4, where jxn means ‘victory,’ and thus the sense appears to be “world truth shall emerge in victory.” As for the phrase ‘world truth,’ it appears to refer to the truth that resides within the world, distinguishing absolute truth from this more partial, mundane truth. There remains one more interpretive issue to be addressed in the passage at hand. The Manual of Discipline states that “the ‘world truth’ has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice” (4.19), and one might understand that it was the world itself that was defiled under the government of Belial.19 But this is not the case. It was the ‘world truth’ that was defiled in this world, as Habakkuk 1:4 decisively proves. There Habakkuk states that “justice never emerges in victory,” due to the present-day behavior of the wicked, and “therefore justice emerges perverted.”As we’ve seen above, the Qumran scrolls twice identify Habakkuk’s prophecy with the truth. Thus, the idea of the ‘world truth’ being defiled in the paths of wickedness is anchored in Habakkuk’s. Now it is clear why the author of the scroll distinguishes between ‘truth’ in the broader sense and ‘world truth,’which is the part — or perhaps the ema- nation — of truth that resides in the world.20 After all, absolute truth cannot, by its very nature, be sullied. Not only truth, but all the core concepts of the sect are immutable, and in this Qumran dualism is different from Gnosticism’s. God “created the spirits of light and of darkness and on them established every deed,

17. See Megillat ha-Serachim, 181, and below, n. 23. 18. For instance, 1QS 4.5, and Megillat ha-Hodayot, 245 (the lexicon). 19. And see 1QS 2.19: “They shall act in this way...allthedaysofBelial’s dominion.” 20. The Manual of Discipline refers to God’s elect as “sons of truth” (4.5), and rightly so.

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on their paths every labor” (1QS 3.25-26); God “sorted them into equal parts until the last time, and has put an everlasting loathing between their divisions. Deeds of injustice are an abhorrence to truth and all the paths of truth are an abhorrence to injustice. (There exists) a violent conflict in respect of all their decrees since they cannot walk together” (1QS 4.16-18). And what could be higher than ‘truth’ — a term that takes the place of God’s name! — for the Qumran community?21 Truth as such, then, is pure, but the truth that resides in the world was indeed “defiled in the paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed” (1QS 4.20-21). The difference between the absolute, immutable truth, and the ‘world truth’ which is currently in a state of defilement, may be explained from another perspective as well, namely, as part of the world historical redemption process, from its creation to the eschaton. God “created man to rule the world and placed within him two spirits so that he would walk with them...thespir- its of truth and of deceit” (1QS 3.17-19). If so, creation is a divine act, not dispar- aged or evil. Concerning the concept of the defiled ‘world truth,’ it would have been better had the following statement been less opaque: “From the spring of light stem the generations of truth, and from the source of darkness the generations of deceit” (1QS 3.19).22 That is to say, all the developments and traits of truth emanate from the spring of light, while those of deceit derive from the source of darkness. It may be that ‘spring of light’ and ‘source of darkness’ have a concrete sense: perhaps the generations of truth and deceit flow into the world from locations transcendent to the world. A little later on the following is stated explicitly: “These are their paths [the paths of the spirits of truth and of deceit] in the world” (1QS 4.2).23 It appears, then, that the ‘world truth’ is that part of the truth that has agency within the world, and thus is beholden to the developments that occur within the world that houses it. The Qumran community holds that the dominion of Belial is currently defiling the world, but this will cease on the appointed day of judgment, when all evil will be forever abolished. It should be noted that there has thus far not been found a single state-

21. See Megillat ha-Serachim, 181. 22. See Megillat ha-Serachim, 85. 23. This passage may cast light on the circumstances leading up to the defilement of the world truth. The Manual of Discipline speaks here of the “paths in the world” of the two spirits of truth and deceit. Now, the path of the spirit of deceit only exists in the world as it now stands, under the dominion of Belial, but will cease “when those born of sin are locked up” (1Q27 1.5). 1QS also speaks of the ‘world truth’ being defiled in the “paths of wickedness” (3.20). If so, the ‘world truth’ was defiled by the spirit of deceit that exists in the world, which is governed by Belial. Regarding the word ‘world’ (lbo), see Gruenwald, From Apocalypticism to Mysticism, 85, n. 48, who rightly cites the meaning of the word among the Mandeans.

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ment in the scrolls to the effect that this defilement has tainted the world itself; the world is conceived as the battleground upon which the forces of light and darkness engage in battle. According to 1QS 4.18-23, the wickedness that currently governs the world defiles both humanity and the ‘world truth’.But, again, at the appointed time, when the sources of deceit are sealed and evil can no longer enter the world, then evil will cease, as darkness flees in the face of light, as smoke dissipates and is no more. Then, both humanity and the ‘world truth’ will be purified of the residual defilement from the days of Belial. The eradication of evil from the two foci is described in similar terms:

Then the world truth shall emerge in Then God will refine...allman’s victory, for it has been defiled in deeds, and will purify for himself the paths of wickedness structureofman...(inorderto cleanse him) from all the abhorrences of deceit and (from) the defilement of the unclean spirit

For the current inquiry, it would have helpful to know the precise sense of “emerge in victory” (jxnl axo) — which originates, as noted above, in Habakkuk. The Hebrew word jxn can mean ‘eternity,’ but this yields an almost impossible reading, that after the defeat of evil, the worldly truth will depart from the temporally delimited universe. This is a bit of theological dialectic that is foreign to the worldview of Qumran. jxn means ‘victory,’an exodus from slavery to freedom. This allows us to narrow the potential sense of “the world truth shall emerge in victory,” but a number of questions remain. Chief among them is the following: did the author think that the ‘world truth’ is presently enslaved, but will gain its freedom in the eschaton, or, alternately, does the phrase “emerge” refer to a movement? If the latter, perhaps this image indicates that, once purified, the world truth will depart to be reunited with the absolute truth, or perhaps it will return to the spring of light, from which emerge the generations of truth.24 These questions remain open, since in the scrolls that have been published thus far there is no trace of the ideas and terminology found in this passage. The events that befall the ‘world truth,’ and particularly its defilement, are very similar to the Gnostic myth. And yet, it is imperative that we exercise restraint. To more clearly define the proximity between the Manual of Disci- pline’s account of truth’s defilement and eventual victory, on the one hand, and the Gnostic view, on the other,25 let us survey once again the drama as

24. See 1QS 3.19. 25. Note particularly Gruenwald, From Apocalypticism to Mysticism, 89-92.

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described in the scrolls. God “created the spirits of light and of darkness and on them established every deed” (1QS 3.25) and permitted the spirit of iniquity to act within the world all the days of the dominion of Belial. A part of the absolute truth is also located within the world, and is called ‘world truth,’ while the absolute truth resides, one must conclude, outside the world, in a “spring of light” (1QS 3.19). But due to the dominion of evil in the world, the world truth “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for judgment decided” (1QS 4.19-20). Hu- mankind suffers a similar fate, as even the sons of justice are tainted with sin. However, in the future God will “purify for Himself the structure of man... from every wicked deed. He will sprinkle over him the spirit of truth like lustral water (in order to cleanse him) from all the abhorrences of deceit and (from) the defilement of the unclean spirit” (1QS 4.20-22). Humanity and the ‘world truth’ will, then, be purified at one and the same time. Before that time, that part of truth will be trapped within a world of sin and deceit, and thus “emerges perverted,”but when evil vanishes completely “the world truth shall emerge in victory” (1QS 4.19-20). Had 1QS 4.18-21 — with its account of the ‘world truth,’ its defilement in the world and its eventual triumph — survived apart from the rest of the Qumran literature, there would undoubtedly be scholars who would identify it as a Gnostic fragment of unknown origin. They might have been perplexed that the spiritual entity that is defiled in the world is called ‘truth’ and not ‘knowledge’ or ‘wisdom’ and the like. They might also lament the absence of any information regarding the descent of ‘truth’ into the world, and particularly the call that frees her from her fetters and defilement. Our hypothetical scholars, unaware that this is a Qumran fragment, would likely notice that our text uses the same terminology of an eschatological baptism of the spirit as John the Baptist, which might lead some of them to far-reaching conclusions about the true religious doctrine of the Precursor. The passage does not contain the typically Gnostic negation of the flesh and of matter, but purification from evil’s defilement through the agency of the spirit accords with the putative Gnosticism of the passage, as does the notion that the walkers in justice will gain knowledge of God and be elevated to the glory of Adam. This thought experiment may help clarify the common elements to our passage and the Gnostic worldview.26 Indeed, the notion of truth descending into the world, being defiled, but then emerging, purified, ‘in victory,’ is a

26. The best characterization of Gnostic thought I know of is Gruenwald, From Apocalypticism to Gnosticism, 192. Gruenwald’s definition helps clarify the differences between Gnostic thought and the views expressed in the Manual of Discipline.

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central part of the mythology of the first known Gnostic, Simon Magus, a contemporary of the first Christians. Anyone familiar with Gnostic literature knows well the dramatic story, in its various versions, of the descent of ‘knowledge’ or ‘wisdoms’ from the supernal world, and their capture in this world, below. As a result of this descent, the evil material world came into existence. It is also well established that humanity is also trapped in these dire straits, and that the only path to redemption is through the endowment of “spiritual” people with “knowledge of the Most High.” As a result, not only are these individuals redeemed from the evil, material world, but parts of the supernal being that are trapped in matter will be released and return to their heavenly source. At the same time, it is important to bear in mind the substantive differences between them. The Gnostic myth contains a fiercely dramatic dynamic, that does not jibe with the Qumran writings. Both the members of the Qumran community and the Gnostics posit an absolute dichotomy between good and evil, but unlike the monotheistic27 — indeed, theocentric — Qumranites, the Gnostics’ main innovation is the revolt of the angels,28 a turn against the one and only God of Israel’s Torah. This reversal takes shape in the Gnostic mythology, which transforms a revolutionary theology into a drama that is both cosmic and very much human. Others have noted these differences, and we have repeated them here in order to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that the passage in 1QS, and especially the discussion of the ‘world truth,’ may be seen as a Gnostic digres- sion from the religious ideology of Qumran. As noted above, the scrolls present a fixed and immutable conceptual worldview; yet here we find that the ‘world truth,’ which is part of the absolute truth, has been altered, tainted, in this world, and will only be repaired in the end time. There is a clear similarity between this doctrine and the Gnostic notion of the “wisdoms” that, in essence, “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for justice decided.” This similarity may be due to external, Gnostic influence on the Qumran thinkers, but I believe this view must be rejected. Better, to my mind, to suppose that the ideology of these sons of light developed the forces buried within it in posse in a Gnostic direc- tion. In either case, it appears we were right to title this brief study “a pre- Gnostic concept in the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

27. Unlike the Persian religion. 28. This is the title of Anatole France’s novel, essentially a retelling of the Gnostic myth. Even after the thrilling discovery of the Gnostic library, the work of this French author remains valuable.

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6. “In the Image of the Likeness of His Form”

Written with Shmuel Safrai

Scholars have long recognized the importance of the Book of Tobias for reconstructing the history of Jewish matrimony.1 Two Greek versions of the book are extent, the long and the short. Additional fragments of the book in Hebrew and Aramaic were uncovered among the Qumran scrolls, proving that the long Greek version is a translation from the Aramaic. According to Albright,2 this version was composed in the fifth or fourth century b.c.e., since the royal Aramaic of the Qumran fragments predates the Aramaic of the Book of Daniel. The book famously contains an interesting parallel to the phrase “according to the law of Moses and Israel” (larqyw hqm odc)from the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract.3 There are three relevant passages: Tobias 6.13, 7.12 and 7.13, and the differences between the three are fascinating. Tobias 6.13 indicates that Reu}el cannot deny Tobias his daughter, “according to the Law of Moses” (kat~ tÌn nËmon MwusŸwv), or, following the long ver-

1. See, e.g., the comments of Dov Heller in Abraham Kahana (ed.), ha-Sefarim ha- Hitzonim (Tel Aviv, 1936-1937), 2.301-302; A. Gulak, in Tarbiz 3, 366; idem, Urkundenwesen in Talmud (Jerusalem, 1935), 42-43. 2. W. F. Albright, Bibliotheca Orientalis 17 (1960), 42. 3. Prof. Shimshon Rosenthal called my attention to the importance of this formula many years ago.

We dedicate this study to the jubilarian, both for its intrinsic importance and because it deals with the evolution of biblical concepts in the ancient world, a topic dear to Prof. Seligman’s heart. Finally, in discussing love and companionship between a man and a woman we honor his wife, who is ‘permitted to him by law.’

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sion, “as per the statute of the Book of Moses” (kat~ tªn kr¾sin t«v b¾blou MwusŸwv). When the two are married, Reu}el addresses Tobias, saying (7.12), “take her from now on according to the statute (kat~ tªn kr¾sin),” while the long version repeats the phrase found in 6.13: “she is given to you as per the law of the Book of Moses.” In the third verse (7.13) Reu}el says to Tobias: “Be- hold, pray take her according to the Law of Moses (kat~ tÌn nËmon MwusŸwv),” and in the long version, “Pray take her according to the law and the statute written in the Book of Moses (kat~ tÌn nËmon ka¿ tªn kr¾sin tªn gegrammŸnhn en t° b¾blæ MwusŸwv), that I give you her for a wife.” This formula appears a fourth time, with a minor change, in the long version of the next verse (7.14): “according to the statute of the Law of Moses” (kat~ tªn kr¾sin toØ MwusŸwv nËmon). We have cited the relevant formulas in both Greek versions, in order to allow the reader to come to her own conclusions. Needless to say, we cannot know to what extent the two Greek translators altered the original, but this much is clear: the Aramaic text discovered at Qumran includes a fragment containing the phrase “book of Moses,” which the editors assign to Tobias 10.13, which fits with the fact that the long Greek version was translated from the Aramaic. We may assume, then, that all four verses of the Aramaic version read “book of Moses”, but that “book” was absent from the short version. Also absent is the important word kr¾siv, statute (which appears in Jewish ketubot, as we will see below), which only appears in Tobias 7.12: “take her from now on according to the statute (kat~ t©n kr¾sin)”.4 In any case, the word kr¾siv, which translates either od or vyd, alludes to the ketubah formula: “according to the law (od or, in some cases, vyd) of Moses,” an allusion best preserved in the long Greek version, which is based on the Aramaic. It should also be noted that the Qumran Temple Scroll speaks of “a young virgin who is not betrothed, and she is permitted to him by law (kwjh vm)” (11QTa 66.8-9), a formula that is similar to that of Tobias 7.13. Let us turn now to another passage from the Book of Tobias, namely Tobias’s prayer on his wedding night, in which, inter alia, he says: “You made man and you made for him his wife, Eve, as a helpmate and a support, and from the two was born the seed of mankind. And you said: It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper as his partner” (8.6). This quote is from the long version, and the short is almost identical. Scholars have

4. The phrase hqm orwo (‘The Law of Moses’) appears in the short version at 6.13 and 7.13, as well as in the fourth verse cited above from the long version: “according to the statute of the Law of Moses” (7.14). This last statement has no counterpart in the short version, and there is some question as to whether it was in the Aramaic original.

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already noted that the mention of Adam and Eve and of their progeny is reminiscent of the Jewish matrimonial blessings,5 the topic of the present study. The two topics mentioned by Tobias — marriage according to the Law of Moses, and Adam and Eve and progeny — also appear in the standard version of the Samaritan marriage contract,6 which contains the formula: “. . . like Eve, who was created from the rib of Adam as a helpmate, for fruit- fulness and reproduction....JustastheLordsaid through his servant Moses: ‘he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights’ (Exod. 21:10)....”Istheconjunctionofthetwomotifsheresignificant? It all depends on whether the formulas in the present-day Samaritan ketubah derive from earlier sources, and whether they may have been influenced by Jewish sources. It seems that as far as the two points in question are concerned, the latter possibility must be discounted, since the language of the Samaritan formula is quite different from the Jewish ketubah and the wedding blessings. However, even if the Samaritan marriage contract derives from an ancient source not influenced by the Jewish matrimonial traditions, it is still possible that the two motifs (Adam and Eve and their progeny, and Moses) do not derive from a single source common to the Samaritan ketubah, the Jewish blessings, and the Book of Tobias, but rather to the analogous role of matrimony in Jewish and Samaritan society. It is natural both for Jews and Samaritans to mention these motifs during a wedding ceremony. Indeed, Christians make mention of the first couple in the Garden of Eden during their wedding ceremonies, even to this very day.7 That said, we ought not underestimate the importance of the Samaritan ketubah for our study, as — stylistic differences notwithstanding — the appearance of the two motifs bespeaks a profound commonality, as will be evident in what follows. The formula “according to the law of Moses and Israel” belongs in the Jewish ketubah. The formula, which has no halakhic significance, was added to the groom’s pronouncement (“Behold, you are sanctified unto me”) only during the Middle Ages, and is attested beginning in the 11th century.8 As we saw, the long version of Tobias reflects the formula “according to the law of

5. See Heller’s discussion in ha-Sefarim ha-Hitzonim. 6. See the two Samaritan inscriptions published by Pinhas Grajewsky in Mizrah u- Ma{arav 2 (1928), 229-231; M. Gaster, Studies and Texts (London, 1925-1928), 3.139, 143, 154, 159, 165, 176. Also of interest is the Hebrew story at 169-170. 7. This is evident from, inter alia, the parodic passage at the end of G. Büchner’s comedy Leonce und Lena. 8. See H. Albeck (ed.), Studies in Memory of Moses Schorr (New York, 1945), 14-15; and see also Sefer ha-Shetarot le-Rabbenu Yehudah b. Barzilay ha-Bartzeloni, Halberstamm (ed.), 11 and 55.

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“In the Image of the Likeness of His Form”

the Book of Moses.”Fortunately, archaeological excavations have provided us with two ancient inscriptions that date roughly to the time of Bar Kokhba. In one,9 only the words “according to the law of M[oses]” were preserved. It would appear that the formula used in this ketubah is identical to that of Babatha’s famous marriage contract,10 which opens with the statement that the matrimony is proceeding “according to the law of Moses and of Israel” (yadwhyw hqm odc). As the editor rightly notes, this is essentially the same formula as we find in the Talmudic discussion of the marriage contract of the Alexandrian community, which came before Hillel the Elder:11 “When you enter my household you will be my wife according to the law (od) of Moses and the Jews.”12 It is possible that the two Yerushalmi passages once read vydc (“according to the law”) but that the scribe of MS Leiden, upon which the printed edition is based, or perhaps one of his predecessors, replaced it with odc (of similar meaning), with which he was more familiar. Despite the early evidence for the formula “yadwhyw hqm vydc”itap- pears that neither it, nor “larqyw hqm odc,” which is still in use today — is original. We believe the earliest formula was “oydwyw hqm odc.”The Mishnah states (Ketubot 7.6): “These are the women who are divorced without receiving the ketubah payment: a wife that transgresses the law of Moses and Jewish custom (oydwhyw hqm od le orbweh).” The Mishnah then elaborates the meaning of “law of Moses” and of “Jewish custom”: transgressions against the former are full-fledged legal transgressions, while the latter refers to transgressions relating to proper behavior. This distinction, however, appears to be secondary—aretroactiveattempttodistinguish between the two elements, made when the formula had become problematic inasmuch as it refers both to written Halakhah encoded in the book of Moses, and to non-biblical and yet obligatory Halakhah. The word dat, in the sense of law, is Persian, while the word oydwhy is very unusual in later Hebrew, as Hebrew (unlike Aramaic) refers only to ‘Israel’ and not to ‘the Jews.’As a result of this linguistic discomfort later authorities changed the formula to “larqyw hqm odc.” The earliest at-

9. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert II (Oxford, 1961), 3, 20, and see Milik’s fascinating comments there. The marriage contracts of the Jews of Elephantine are structured differently, and contain no corresponding formulas. 10. See Y. Yadin, “The Judean Desert Caves” (Hebrew), Yediot 26 (1962), 222, document 7; idem, The Search for Bar Kokhba (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1971), 237, and see also Yadin’s fascinating comments in both sources. 11. P. Ketubot 4, 28d, and p. Yebamot 15, 14d. The same story appears in t. Ketubot 3.9, but there we find the standard formula: “according to the law of Moses and Israel.” 12. Thus in the two passages in the Palestinian Talmud. The actual marriage contracts of Alexandrian Jews were most likely composed in Greek.

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testation of this “corrected” version is found in t. Ketubot 7.6:13 “Because he failed to treat her according to the law of Moses and Israel.”This new formula, which is still standard today, is the typical lectio facilior, inasmuch as it does away with the archaic “oydwhy.” The price for this move, however, is that, semantically, the word ‘Israel’ is now tied to its immediate predecessor, ‘Moses,’ but only loosely to od. This is also true of yadwhyw hqm vydc,where—ifwe are correct — the infrequent od has been replaced by the more standard vyd.If so, the syntax of oydwhyw hqm odc is the most difficult of the three (thus, lectio difficilior), while its content is clearer than the others. Both its terminology (od, oydwhy) and its content — the law of Moses understood as the part of the law that is codified in the Torah, alongside an unwritten Jewish law — indicated that it stems from the Persian or early Hellenistic period. And since the formula “hqm rps odc” is known from the Book of Tobias, it appears oydwhyw hqm odc is an expanded version that aims, perhaps, at greater clarity, or perhaps to distinguish the Jewish ketubah from its Samaritan counterpart. Now to the main subject at hand. We saw above that both the Samaritan and the modern Jewish ketubot, as well as Tobias’s prayer on his nuptial night, mention Adam and Eve and their progeny. They are also the subject of one of the “seven blessings” offered at Jewish wedding ceremonies. These blessings are listed in b. Ketubot 7b-8a in the name of Rav Yehudah, presumably the Amora by that name. But the opening of Kallah Rabbati, one of the so-called ‘minor tractates,’ reads:14 “Regarding the seven blessings, how do we bless? RabbiLevisaid...”15 This seems to be the correct reading, and the Talmud’s mistake, for in b. Ketubot 7b, immediately prior to the citation of the blessings in the name of Rav Yehudah, another matter — the requirement that new guests appear with the bride and groom during the seven days of their wedding celebration — is cited in his name. But this passage is also found in t. Megillah 4.14, where it is obvious that the sage in question is Rabbi Yehudah, the Tanna, and not Rav Yehudah, the Amora. This strongly suggests that Kallah Rabbati correctly cites the seven blessings in the name of Rabbi Levi, while the Babylonian Talmud erroneously attributed this statement to Rav Yehudah, due to the preceding mention of Rabbi Yehudah, the Tanna. And while the Talmud mentions only six blessings, adding the blessing on the wine yields seven blessings in all. But it is not only the seven blessings that are recited at wedding ceremo-

13. And in t. Ketubot 4.9, and see above, n. 11. 14. See M. Higger (ed.), Masakhtot Kallah, 170-171. Immediately prior to this we find the blessing on the betrothal cited in the name of Rabbi Yehudah. 15. On the seven blessings see Azriel Hildsheimer, “The History of the Benedictions of Betrothal and Matrimony” (Hebrew), Sinai 10 (1942), 107-119.

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“In the Image of the Likeness of His Form”

nies. B. Ketubot 8a, immediately following the passage just cited, recounts an incident in which only five or six blessings were recited, followed by the assertion that “those of the east [i.e., Babylonia] bless the groom with seven blessings, those of the Land of Israel with three.”16 In a discussion of the havdalah blessings, marking the end of the Sabbath, we find the following rule: “One who minimizes cannot proceed with less than three, one who maximizes cannot add beyond seven” (b. Pesahim 103b). We may surmise the identity of the three wedding blessings. If we exclude the blessing on the wine, which apparently was not mandatory since it is not mentioned in Ketubot 8a, we come to the blessing “that all was made for His glory” which is undoubtedly old since it is alluded to by Rabbi Yehuda in t. Megillah 4.14. The next blessing (“Blessed art thou...whocreatedman”),however,isinfacttheconclusion of the fourth blessing. It appears, then, that the third blessing was added for the sole purpose of reaching the number seven. The last blessing is beautiful and poetic, but its conclusion is identical with that of the sixth. It appears, then, that the last of the seven blessings is no more than a copy of its predecessor. It is not easy to decide whether the fifth (“qyqo qwq”) or the sixth constituted part of the original three blessings. Perhaps both were once part of a single prayer that had to do with marital joy. All this points to the central importance of the fourth blessing, a text that — as noted — has rough parallels in the Samaritan ketubah and in the ancient Book of Tobias. In what follows, we will argue that the fourth blessing dates back to the time of the Second Temple, will try to elucidate its dependence on biblical motifs, and point to a fascinating parallel in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The benediction states: “Blessed art thou O Lord our God, king of the Universe, who has created man in his image, in the image of the likeness of his form, and has prepared unto him out of himself a building forever. Blessed art thou, O Lord, Creator of man.”17 The linguistic influence of the biblical creation story of Adam and Eve is plainly evident. The phrase “fdah oa rey rqa” depends on Genesis 2:7. The word flx famously appears in Genesis 1:26-27, and note especially verse 26: “Let us make humankind in our image,” a verse that also contains the word ‘likeness’ (owmd). The blessing also mentions the creation of Eve: “the Lord made for Adam, from his rib, a building forever, as it is written, ‘and the

16. Ha-Hilukim, Margaliouth edition (1938), 143-145. 17. The word flxb, ‘in the image,’ is not attested in the Genizah text (TS8H), nor in the Italian liturgical tradition. The version cited here is found in Siddur Rav Sa}adia Gaon (He- brew), p. 108, though the critical apparatus refers to an alternate version also attested in Sa}adia’s oeuvre. All these are secondary alterations, stemming from the putative syntactical difficulty of “in the image of the likeness of his form” (owmd flxb woynbo).

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rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman’.” The word oynbo, ‘form,’ apparently serves as an allusion to Isaiah 44:13, regarding the creation of an idol: “he makes it in human form, with human beauty,18 to be set up in a shrine.” Another possibility is that the author’s reference to yde vynb de, ‘a building forever,’alludes to Psalm 132:12: “. . . their sons forever shall sit on your throne.”As we will see, this de yde vynb refers in the blessing not only to Eve, whom God created for Adam from his rib, but also to the human race, the descendents of Eve who will exist “forever.” Humankind, then, is likened to a vynb, a building. We might also mention a linguistic and conceptual parallel found in b. Shabbat 114a: “To what does vyanb refer? Rabbi Yohanan said: these are the sages who concern themselves with the building of the world all their lives.” The same idea is famously found at the end of b. Berakhot (64 and 71): Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Hanina: Sages increase peace in the world, for Scripture states ‘All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children (Fynb).’ Don’t read this as ‘your children (Fynb)’ but rather as ‘your builders (Fynwb).”19 Both these dicta point, at the very least, to a possible connection between children and the building of the world, and it stands to reason that the author of the blessing was inspired by vbyw in Genesis 2:22 to add the concept of de yde vynb, that is, the generations of Eve, the mother of all life. As for the ongoing existence of the progeny of Adam and Eve, the de yde vynb of the blessing, it is worth citing the creation account in the Qumran Hodayot: “You have created the earth with your strength, seas and deeps [with dry land and all its inhabi]tants you have founded with your wisdom, everything which is in them you have determined according to your will” (1QHa 9.13-16). There is also a significant parallel to the terminology and content of the wedding blessings in the beginning of the third book of the Sibylline Oracles, which is actually the end of the second book.20 There (line 8 or, in some version, 10) we find reference to man’s having God’s image,21 while further on (line 27 or 33) we read about God fixing “the pattern of the human form.”22 It

18. Apparently in a relatively early period this verse was interpreted as if the idolater created an idol of Adam, since Ben Sira states: “Shem and Seth and Enosh were honored, but above every other created living being was the beauty of Adam” (49.16). It is possible that this early interpretive tradition is the basis for the reference to woynbo of Adam in the matrimonial blessing, and to the War Scroll’s “fda oynbo” (10.14), to be discussed below. Compare also b. Sanhedrin 84 and t. Sanhedrin 8.5. 19. In the Qumran Isaiah scroll there is, in fact, an interlinear w hanging over Fynb. 20. Hanna Safrai called our attention to this parallel. 21. ‡njrwpoi jeËplaston £qontev ›n Âkonti morf©n. 22. tÖpov morf«v merËpwn. An interesting passage from an early Samaritan text, the

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“In the Image of the Likeness of His Form”

is possible that the Greek tÖpov, pattern, reflects the Hebrew oynbo, which appears in the same context in our benediction. We will return to the Dead Sea Scroll parallels to the benediction, one of which plays a critical role in our argument. But first it is necessary to clarify the meaning of “woynbo owmd flxb.” The prayer book }otzar ha-tefilot (252b) cites a saying by Rabbi David ben Zimra, which originally appeared in the anthology of Talmudic commentaries known as shitah mequbetzet to t. Ketubot 8a: “One must pay close attention to the fact that flx is a subtle word, while oynbo is a coarse term...andoneshould not use it to modify anything immaterial, including God. As a result there are those who emend the formula, but the matter is resolved by recognizing that woynbo, ‘his form,’ is reflexive. That is, wonbo of man is in ‘the image of the likeness’ of the creator.”23 In other words, the phrase woynbo owmd flxb, ‘in the image of the likeness of his form,’ is an independent statement that stands in apposition to the preceding word, wmlx. The form of man was created in the image of the likeness of God.24 As for the “form of man” (fda lq woynbo), this terminology is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically in two fragments from 1QMysteries (1Q27), which refer to the “form of the male”which will be no longer, since “their form is of dust” (foynbo rpem).25 This last phrase has a parallel in the Hodayot, where we find: “What is someone born of woman....Heisastructure(hnbm) of dust fashioned with water” (1QHa 5.20-21), a verse that includes the word hnbm rather than the cognate form oynbo. The author of the Hodayot further states: “I am a creature of clay, fashioned with water, a foundation of shame and a source of impurity, an oven of iniquity and a building of sin” (1QHa 9.21- 22). He describes his body, saying, “the foundations of my build have crum- bled” (1QHa 15.4), and further “You founded upon rock my building and everlasting foundation as my base” (1QHa 15.8-9). The term hnbm in the sense of ‘body’ is also found in the Manual of Discipline, in reference to the purity of

Memar Marka, reads: “Blessed is God who introduced a variety of creatures for the sake of man, who is glorious in the shape that is upon the image of God, the form of the heart with no form of the shape.” Heidenhiem, Bibliotheca Samaritana 3 (1896), 3. 23. See Shitah Mequbetzet on Ketubot (Tel Aviv, 1963), 160. 24. The original language must have been owmd flxb and not wowmd flxb, since the phrase woynbo wowmd flxb would have been ambiguous, as though the oynbo of man were in the wowmd flx of himself! The failure to recognize that woynbo owmd flxb is an independent phrase engendered the interpretive difficulties that the various emendations sought to overcome (see above, n. 17). 25. Our thanks to J. T. Milik who allowed us to cite these verses, as well as the phrase “book of Moses” from the Book of Tobias. All these are from the Qumran scrolls that have not yet been published.

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man in the end of days: “Then God will refine, with his truth, all man’s deeds, and will purify for himself the structure of man, ripping out all the spirit of injustice from the innermost part (wrqb ymco)” (1QS 4.20-21).26 The juxtaposition of hnbm and fymco is also found in a Hodayot fragment, which reads “like my build and my entrails” ([y]mcow yoynbmc) (1QHa 22, middle). Clearly, then, the poetic use of oynbo to refer to the human body has a number of fascinating attestations in the Qumran scrolls. This was the elevated, poetic language of the Second Temple period, as we are now able to recognize thanks to the discoveries at Qumran. Due to the unique worldview of the Qumran community, most of these references to the human body appear in a pejorative sense, but there is no reason to suppose this was true of all the literature of the day. After all, if the benediction speaks of the image of the likeness of the form of God, this form, oynbo, undoubtedly carries a positive valence. We now turn to the most significant parallel to the fourth of the wedding blessings, and it is found in the War Scroll (10.14), as part of the description of the great acts of creation, one of which is “man’s image, the gener[ations of his r]ib.”So great is the similarity between this phrase and the language of the wedding blessing, that Yadin’s restoration is certainly correct. The parallel between the sectarian scroll and the “rabbinic” blessing becomes more apparent when the two are juxtaposed:

who has created man in his image, in the image of the likeness of his form, man’s image and has prepared unto him out of himself and the gener[ations of his rib] a building forever.

The parallel goes beyond the linguistic and substantive similarities concerning man and his form, but rather extend to the statement about Eve, who is built from Adam’s rib, and about her descendents: “the generations of his rib” — corresponding to the “building forever” that God “prepared unto him.” There is, then, a literary connection between the language of the scroll and the wedding blessing. Are we to suppose that the author of the War Scroll was familiar with the wedding blessing, or perhaps both have their roots in the same literary tradition? Whatever the answer, the language of the War Scroll suggests that the blessing is ancient, and was composed during the Sec- ond Temple period. There is also a methodological lesson to be learned from these texts: scholars who argue that poetic language in liturgical texts is a marker of late composition are sadly mistaken. Our analysis suggests that at

26. Most of the Qumran citations offered here have been collected by Yadin in his edition of the War Scroll.

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least parts of these poetic liturgical works are, to the contrary, quite early. Un- fortunately, this is not the place to discuss the evolution of literary Hebrew in the Second Temple period and post 70. Furthermore, it should not be surprising that the blessing states that the form of man, that is, man’s material aspect, was created in the image of God. This is not, of course, an anthropomorphism, but rather a holistic view of man that encompasses his spiritual and material aspects alike. The anthropology that here finds expression is not one of dualism, according to which the spirit alone is created in God’s image, but unitary, sanctifying both the body and the spirit. This same view finds expression, albeit in a more subtle form, in the teachings of Hillel the Elder, who taught that bathing in a bath- house is a religious commandment:27

Once, when Hillel the Elder concluded his studies with his disciples, he walked along with them. His disciples asked him: ‘Master, where are you bound?’ He answered them: ‘To perform a religious duty.’ ‘What,’ they asked, ‘is this religious duty?’ He said to them: ‘To wash in the bath- house.’ Said they: ‘Is this a religious duty?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied; ‘if the statues of kings, which are erected in theatres and circuses, are scoured and washed by the man who is appointed to look after them, and who thereby obtains his salary — nay more, he is exalted in the company of the great of the kingdom — how much more I, who have been created in the image and likeness, as it is written: ‘For in his own image God made mankind’ (Gen. 9:6).

We have traversed a long way to arrive at our destination. We began with the Book of Tobias, which contains the two motifs found in the Samari- tan marriage contract, as well as in Jewish marriage ceremonies to this very day. The Book of Tobias employs the phrase “according to the law of the book of Moses,” and we traced its development, ultimately arriving at the present version, “according to the law of Moses and Israel.” The second motif in Tobias is found in the prayer he offers on his nuptial night (8.6), namely, the mention of the creation of Adam and Eve, from whom “was born the seed of mankind.” This is the very content of one of the seven Jewish matrimonial blessings, and we have tried to explain its meaning. Apparently, this is the oldest of the seven blessings. Indeed, its terminology — with its fascinating par-

27. Leviticus Rabba 34.3, in Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus, J. J. Slotki (trans.) (London, 1939), 428. And see also Avot According to Rabbi Nathan, B (Schechter edition, p. 66). There is another story about Hillel in Leviticus Rabba that suggests that he also conceived of the body as the abode of the soul.

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allels in the Qumran scrolls — suggests that it dates back to the Second Tem- ple period. Our conclusions relate not only to the history and development of the matrimonial blessings, but to the meaning and function of ancient prayers as such: often they are the expression of profound religious and philosophical thought. The impetus for these prayers lies, of course, in a novel development of biblical thought, a topic which our jubilarian has so ably studied.

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7.“NotbyanAngel...”

This titular phrase, familiar from the Passover Haggadah,1 was discussed in an earlier study of mine.2 The phrase “Not by an angel...andnotbyames- senger, but rather the Holy One Blessed Be He himself in his glory (redeemed us from Egypt)”3 does not appear in the sources from which the Haggadah as we now have it is drawn, but it is known from other rabbinic sources.4 It is worth noting that the Gospel of Mark echoes the same idea (Mark 13:32, and similarly Matt. 24:36), when Jesus says: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angel in heaven, nor the son, but only the Father.”5 The statement in Mark is, most likely, the earliest (even if indirect) witness to the statement under consideration. The assertion that God redeemed Israel not by the mediation of an angel or a messenger, but rather He Himself acted as redeemer, is based on the

1. See the discussion in S. Safrai and Z. Safrai, Haggadah of the Sages (Hebrew) (Jerusa- lem, 1998), 220, as well as p. 11, nn. 29-30. 2. D. Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem, 1988), p. 252, n. 24, and p. 254, n. 33. 3. The phrase “himself in his glory” (wmxebw wdwbcb) is a late addition of God’s “glory” to the original “himself.”See Safrai, Haggadah of the Sages, 140. “Himself” appears to be the correct reading, with “in his glory” added as the result of the incorrect assumption that God redeemed Israel from Egypt by the agency of the Divine Glory. 4. See Safrai, Haggadah of the Sages, p. 11, nn. 29-30. See also Sifre Deuteronomy §42 (p. 88 in the Finkelstein edition; Hammer edition, p. 86), §337 (Finkelstein, pp. 386-387; Ham- mer edition, p. 339). 5. The singular “angel” is attested in the Vatican manuscript. Other manuscripts (followed by the NRSV), read “angels.” See also Acts 23:8; Galatians 1:8.

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Hebrew Vorlage of Isaiah 63:8-9 LXX (among other witnesses), which is apparently the correct reading. It was Yehezkel Kaufmann who discovered that Isaiah 63:9 LXX provides the context for our statement from the Passover Haggadah.6 It is the Septuagint version that serves as the basis for, e.g., the NRSV: “For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely’; and he became their savior in all their distress. It was no emissary (rÂx) or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” Al- ready Yigael Yadin in his comments to the War Scroll 13.14 noted that the Qumran verse was in fact a midrashic elaboration of Isaiah 63:9 LXX. For there we find: “And which angel or prince is an aid like [you?].” This statement provides an important piece of textual evidence inasmuch as it demonstrates that the Qumran community interpreted Isaiah 63:9 according to the Septuagint’s reading, against the Masoretic text as we have it today. This information could not be gleaned from the two Isaiah scrolls discovered at Qumran. In the fragmentary copy the relevant words are not preserved, while the Great Isaiah Scroll is inconclusive on this point. The only possibly significant detail in the Great Isaiah Scroll is the reading re awl, which could be understood as a synthesis of the ketiv al (‘not’) and the qere wl (‘to him’).7 This hypothesis is, however, best discounted since the plene orthography awl is typical in Qumran texts. Moreover, as I will show in what follows, the motivation for the qere form (wl) lies elsewhere. In the War Scroll 13.14 we find ‘ruler’ (rq) instead of ‘emissary’ (rÂx), as in the Septuagint (and jylq, ‘messenger,’ in the Haggadah). The shift is significant, as it is the former term that best accords with the original version of Deuteronomy 32:8-9:8

When the Most High apportioned the nations / when he divided humankind, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples / according to the number of the angels; The Lord’s own portion was his people / Jacob his allotted share

The idea that a divine ruler is appointed to each nation is quite ancient, and amply attested in the apocalyptic and eschatological literature of the Sec- ond Temple period. The Book of Daniel, for example, states that it is the angel

6. See his critique of E. E. Urbach in Qiryat Sefer 36 (1961), p. 146, n. 17 (Hebrew). 7. On qere and ketiv see Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis, 1992), 58-64. 8. See Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, p. 252, n. 24.

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“NotbyanAngel...”

Michael who governs Israel. But alongside this approach we find the claim (already encountered above in Deuteronomy) that while other nations are governed by angels, Israel is the Lord’s portion. Indeed, it appears this is the view of Isaiah 63:8-9, according to the original reading reflected in the Septu- agint, in the War Scroll, and in the Passover Haggadah. It is striking that, absent a proper appreciation of the importance of Isaiah 63:8-9 LXX—arela- tively recent development — we would not be able to reconstruct the original sense of the verses from the ancient rabbinic sources. As we will see, this loss was caused by the qere wl (‘to him’). We must assume that the first step in the loss of the meaning of this verse lies in a shift in the understanding of rx. For, depending on the Hebrew vocalization, the same consonants may be read as rÂx (‘emissary’) or as r½x tzar (‘to anguish’), and, over time, the latter became the dominant reading. This led to an intermediate stage, in which ‘to anguish’ was paired with the ketiv al (‘not’), yielding “He did not anguish” (rather than: “It was no emissary”). This reading is reflected in the Vulgate and the Aramaic Targum, and was also the view of Rashi, the medieval Bible commentator, who, following the Targum, writes: “‘In all their distress (forx lcb)’ that He brought upon them, ‘He did not anguish (rx al),’ that is, He did not bring anguish upon them in accordance with their misdeeds. For the angel of His Presence is Mi- chael, the Ruler of the Divine Presence, who serves before God, and he always redeems as he is delegated to do by the Almighty.” In the final (present) stage, the misreading of rx was joined with the qere, wl (‘for him’) in place of al (‘not’). This shift occurred in the Tannaitic period, as we see in a passage found both in the Sifre Numbers9 and in the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael: “And so you find that whenever Israel is enslaved the Divine Presence (Shekhinah), as it were, is enslaved with them, as it is said, ‘...inalltheir distress He was distressed.”10 In the earlier, intermediate, stage which followed the ketiv, the verse was interpreted as an assertion that God does not cause anguish to anyone, least of all to Israel, while the angel Michael saves them from distress. But now, following the qere, the meaning of the verse is transformed: the Holy One Blessed Be He participates, as it were, in the sufferings of Israel. We are dealing here with a particularly bold aspect of the Jewish humanism of that period,11 the notion that God suffers with Israel, which apparently originated in

9. §84, Horovitz edition, p. 82. 10. Pisha 14 (Horovitz-Rabin edition, 51; Lauterbach 1.113). 11. See my article “Who Loves Mankind” (Hebrew) in Judaism of the Second Temple Pe- riod: The Sages and Their Literature (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2002), 146-150.

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the circle of Rabbi Aqiva and his disciples. As Rabbi Meir says (m. Sanhedrin 6.5):12 “R. Meir said: When man is troubled, what says the Divine Presence? My head pains me, my arm pains me. If these are the words of Scripture with regard to the blood of the wicked, how much more when the blood of the righteous is spilt?” In truth, it is hard to determine the precise dynamic between the idea of God’s suffering, on the one hand, and Isaiah 63, on the other. Did the qere wl (‘to him’) allow the verse to be “harnessed” as a prooftext to the idea that God suffers with Israel, or perhaps to the contrary, the notion of divine commiseration with Israel gave rise to the qere wl. One thing is certain: the consonantal text of Isaiah 63:9 is a crux interpretum. It is worth noting that the anthropomorphic notion of God’s suffering caused a great deal of discomfort among medieval Jewish Bible commentators, who were as a rule disturbed by the anthropomorphic elements in midrash. Rashi fails to note the qere, instead repeating in Hebrew the Targum’s reading, while Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, referring to the qere, states: “This is to be understood as a parable, that is, as though God were in anguish and for this reason hastened to redeem them.” In summary: The correct reading of Isaiah 63:9 was preserved in the Septuagint, and is also reflected in the War Scroll and in the Passover Hagga- dah. There is no question that this is a difficult verse, apparently because its terminology — and its content — are linked with the traditions involving the negotiations between God and Moses following the Golden Calf (Exodus 32:34; 33:14-15).13 The negotiations open with God commanding Moses: “But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you” (Exod. 32:34). In other words, God sought to hand Israel over to an angel, until Moses interceded, saying, “Let the Lord go with us” (Exod. 34:9).14 A similar view is found in God’s statement (Exod. 33:14): “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” The translator of the Septuagint sensed the affinity between this verse and Isaiah 63:9, and translated the Hebrew fynp (‘presence’) in both verses with the same Greek word, aÔtËv, which here means “I myself.” Here, again, is Isaiah 63:8-9: “For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely’; and he became their savior in all their distress. It was no emissary (rÂx) or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

12. Following MS Kaufmann (where it appears as 6.10). 13. The link between the biblical passages was pointed out to me by Shmuel Löwenstamm. 14. See Midrash Ha-Gadol, Exodus (Margaliyot edition, p. 694).

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“NotbyanAngel...”

We stated that the consonantal text of Isaiah 63:9 is difficult, particularly because the terminology borrows from Exodus. The first step in the loss of the original meaning occurred because the word rx (rÂx, ‘emissary’) was written scripto defectiva. The word forx, ‘their distress,’ which occurs in the previous verse, provided an erroneous solution, connecting rx to hrx (‘distress’). Thus there emerged the view that God is not the source of Israel’s distress. Who offers them succor? “The angel of God’s presence — Michael, one of the angels of the presence and heavenly ruler over Israel — redeemed them.” The next step in the obfuscation of Isaiah 63:9 is preserved in the Masoretic text (following the ketiv), as well as in the Vulgate and the Targum. It is followed by a third stage, in which the qere wl (‘for him’) replaces its homonym al (‘not’). This reading is attested as early as the Tannaitic period, prior to the redaction of the Mishnah. The shift is graphically subtle, and it stands to reason that its originator was convinced he was restoring the original meaning of the verse. The qere wl, moreover, fits with the idea that God suffers along with Israel, which appears among the disciples of Rabbi Aqiva. Originally, then, God was not the direct cause of Israel’s distress, whereas ultimately God actually participates in their anguish. We have traversed a long way to track the changes that occurred in the understanding of a single verse, Isaiah 63:9. But our perseverance has, I would hope, been rewarded, even in terms of methodology. We have uncovered an example of a perfect synthesis of textual history and biblical interpretation, on the one hand, and the spiritual history of ancient Israel, on the other.

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8. A Qumran Fragment and the Second Blessing of the Amidah

Émile Puech has recently published all the extant fragments of one of the Qumran scrolls.1 One of the fragments has great significance both for the gospels and for the history of the second blessing of the Amidah, known as ‘Mighty Deeds’ or gevurot.2 It is not easy to categorize the scroll and its content, since only a few small fragments survived. The fragment in question is the largest of the group, and it was copied in the early years of the first century b.c.e., which indicates it was composed prior to this time. The editor, Puech, is uncertain as to whether the text in question was composed by members of the Qumran community, since the extant fragments do not contain the ideas and terminology that characterize the Qumran sect. To the contrary: up to this point, the word fydysj (‘righteous men’), for instance, has not turned up in any of the typically sectarian scrolls — though it does here. The editor further notes that the fragment endorses the belief in the resurrection of the dead, and if this scroll does indeed reflect Qumran’s own ideology, it follows that they too must be counted, along with the Pharisees and the church, as adherent to this belief. However, it appears this is not a sectarian composition. The mere fact that the scroll was copied by a Qumran scribe does not, in and of itself, prove that its content was acceptable to the community. After all, fragments of Ben Sira were also discovered among the scrolls, and he did not believe in life after death, while the Essenes believed in the im-

1. É. Puech, ‘Une apocalypse messianique (4Q521)’, RQ 60 (1992), 475-519. 2. The fragment in question is 2ii+4. We are particularly concerned with lines 8 and 12. See Puech, ‘Une apocalypse messianique,’ 485.

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mortality of the soul.3 It is not enough to state that the text in question states that God “will make the dead live” (4Q521, frag. 2 II, line 12), to conclude that the author maintains a doctrine of a general, eschatological resurrection.4 But another fragment clarifies that this was indeed the belief of the author.5 The following passage is pertinent to our discussion (4Q521, frag. 2 II, lines 5-13):

5. For the Lord will consider the pious, and call the righteous by name, 6. and his spirit will hover upon the poor, and he will renew the faithful with his strength. 7. For he will honor the pious upon the throne of an eternal kingdom, 8. freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twisted. ... 11. And the Lord will perform marvelous acts such as have not existed, just as he said, 12. for he will heal the sick and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the poor 13. and he will satisfy the impoverished; he will lead the abandoned and enrich the hungry.

The author enumerates the ‘marvelous acts such as have not existed’ which the Lord will perform ‘just as he said’ (line 11). There is no doubt that this is the Jewish context out of which grew the gospel of the “historical” Je- sus. As noted, there is an important parallel between line 12 of this passage, and the response Jesus gives to the messengers from John the Baptist. Indeed, lines 12-13 are very similar, both in form and in content, to the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12; Lk. 6:20-23). Furthermore, the scroll states (line 6) that “his

3. See Josephus, BJ 2.154-158, and also AJ 18.18. Josephus’s account indicates that a correlate to Essene belief in the immortality of the soul was the rejection of corporeal resurrection. Josephus, after all, states that the Essenes viewed death as the release of the soul from its bodily fetters, and we see that the Qumran community (in their later stages) conceived of the ‘flesh’ in very negative terms. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume. In my view, there is not a single passage in the Qumran texts that can count as an unam- biguous endorsement of the belief in resurrection. That said, we cannot discount the possibility that there were Essenes who adopted the Pharisee view with regard to physical resurrection. 4. Puech rightly cites as a parallel (p. 492) the words of Jesus (Matt. 11:5; Lk. 7:22) that the raising of the dead is one of the signs of the advent of the messianic era. It is clear that Jesus is referring to the miracles he has performed, not to a general resurrection in some future time. 5. See 4Q521(frag. 7 + 5 II, line 6): “He who gives life to the dead of his people.”

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spirit will hover upon the poor.”This statement explains the phrase “the poor of spirit,” which is attested both from the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3) and from the scrolls, where it refers to the Qumran members themselves.6 These are not the poor as such, but rather the poor upon which the spirit of God hovers. The Qumran fragment in question is particularly meaningful for the second blessing of the Amidah, known as ‘Mighty Deeds’ (gevurot).7 For here we see that the purpose of the blessing was not to emphasize the belief in resurrection, as against those who would deny it, but rather to praise God as the doer of “mighty deeds.” Indeed, this may once have been the conclusion of the blessing. Thus, the phrase “You revive the dead” that opens the benediction does not refer to a general resurrection in the future. But first let us cite the relevant lines from our text:

8. freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out thetwisted... 12. for he will heal the sick and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the poor

A few preliminary remarks are in order. First, line 8 is a citation of Psalm 146:7- 8. Second, it is noteworthy that the Qumran passage is reminiscent of the standard, “Babylonian,” version of the blessing, not of the Palestinian version, which states: “You are mighty, powerfully humbling the mighty and bringing the tyrant to justice, You live forever, causing the wind to blow and the dew to settle. You sustain all life and revive the dead, bringing forth salvation for us in a moment’s time. Blessed art thou O Lord, who revives the dead.” There are Palestinian traditions of the blessing, but all contain similar language. Interest- ingly, the Qumran passage is most like the Babylonian version. This is not particularly problematic, since the Palestinian version was the norm in Byzantine Palestine, while its “Babylonian” cousin is in no way later; at least the core elements of most “Babylonian” blessings are, no doubt, of Palestinian origin.8

6. See D. Flusser, “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit,” Judaism and the Origins of Christianity (Jerusalem, 1989), 102-114. 7. On this benediction see I. Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History, Ray- mond P.Scheindlin (trans.) (New York and Philadelphia, 1993), 45-46. Of particular importance is the passage that parallels both the language of the scroll and that of the second blessing in the Babylonian Amidah, as well as the blessing Nishmat kol hai (“the breath of every creature”), which states: “He who awakens the sleeping and wakes the slumbering, gives speech to the mute, unfetters the imprisoned, supports those who stumble, and raises up those who are bent down.” Of course, the Amidah is not dependent upon the language of Nishmat kol hai. 8. For an example of this dynamic see D. Flusser, “The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy,” in the present volume.

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A Qumran Fragment and the Second Blessing of the Amidah

Let us, then, compare the language of the gevurot blessing (in its standard, “Babylonian” version) with the Qumran scroll:

Gevurot 4Q521 revives the dead with great mercy makes the dead live supports all who fall9 straightens out the crooked heals the sick heals the sick10 frees prisoners frees prisoners

If we compare the language of the blessing to our Qumran text, on the one hand, and the biblical parallels, on the other,11 we find that the two post- biblical texts are much closer to each other than to the language of the original biblical verses. The linguistic similarity is such that it excludes the possibility of mere coincidence. To my mind, it is unlikely that the second blessing of our Amidah was known to the author of 4Q521. And in any case, there is no evidence that the Qumran composition influenced the rabbinic blessing, since there are no sectarian elements visible in the Qumran composition.12 The blessing too is fundamentally non-sectarian — except for the secondary element in its conclusion, i.e. the reference to the Pharisaic-Rabbinic belief in eschatological resurrection.13 In light of all this, it appears that already in the Hasmonean era there existed a prayer, whose language is reflected in the second blessing of the Amidah (the Gevurot) in its standard version, and this is a significant finding for the history of Jewish prayer in general. Moreover, the fragment from Qumran sheds light on the Jewish background of Jesus, though that lies beyond the purview of the present analysis.

9. This phrase is missing in Rav Sa}adia Gaon’s prayer book. 10. The Hebrew here is fyllj, a variant of fylwj, ‘sick.’ 11. For an excellent comparison between the language of the blessing and its biblical an- tecedents see the commentary on the prayer book by Rabbenu Yehudah ben Yaqqar, the rabbinic master of Nahmanides, published by S. Yerushalmi, A Commentary on the Prayers and Benedictions (Jerusalem, 1989), 1.39. 12. Though this does occur elsewhere, and see “The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy.” 13. See the discussion in Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy. I would like to reiterate that both the body of the blessing (prior to the conclusion) and 4Q521 are not referring to an eschatological resurrection (unlike, e.g., the fragment cited in Puech, ‘Une apocalypse messianique,’501). Simi- larly, Jesus’ statements concerning the resurrection of the dead as a result of his actions (Matt. 11:5; Lk. 7:22), certainly do not concern the ultimate resurrection.

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9. 4QMMT and the Benediction Against the Minim

Dedicated to Clemens Thoma, in friendship

I. The Irredeemably Wicked in Seder {Olam

A fascinating article published recently,1 deals with a Qumran scroll that has yet to be published in its entirety. One of the passages in this text, known as 4QMMT, supports our hypothesis that Birkat ha-Minim, the blessing against heretics, in the Amidah prayer, was originally aimed against the Essenes. As such, it seems apt to summarize the results of our findings of the past several years,2 and provide additional analysis that may help clarify this knotty prob-

1. See Y. Sussman, “The History of Halakha and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Preliminary Obser- vations on Miqsat Ma{ase Ha-Torah (4QMMT),” Tarbiz 59 (1990), 11-76. The scroll was published in full by Z. J. Kapera, “An Anonymously Received Pre-Publication of the ‘4QMMT’,” The Qumran Chronicle (Cracow, 1990), No. 2, Appendix A, 1-11. 2. See my articles: “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” Reuven Mass Festschrift (Je- rusalem, 1974), 266-273; and “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum,” in the present volume; “The Jewish-Christian Schism,” in Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 637-643. And see also H. Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners or Israel’ in the Light of Seder {Olam,” Tarbiz 55 (1986), p. 322 nn. 91-92; B. Z. Binyamin, “Birkat ha-Minim and the Ein Gedi Inscrip- tion,” Immanuel 21 (1987), 68-79; I. Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History (Philadel- phia and New York, 1993), 33, 35-36, 45-46. And see, furthermore, R. Kimelman, “Birkat ha- Minim,”in E. P.Sanders (ed.), Jewish and Christian Self-Definition (Philadelphia, 1981), 224-226. While I was writing this article E. Fleischer published his important study “On the Beginnings of Obligatory Jewish Prayer,” Tarbiz 59 (1990), 397-441, which touches on the incorporation of Birkat ha-Minim into the Eighteen Benedictions (435-436). Fleischer argues that there was no fixed liturgy pre-70: “Prayer, in the common sense of the word, was established by Rabban Gamaliel and his court only after the destruction of the Second Temple, as is famously re-

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4QMMT and the Benediction Against the Minim

lem. To expand the scope of the discussion, we first turn to Tosefta Sanhedrin 13.4-5,3 the source for b. Rosh ha-Shanah 17a.4 However, a superior version of the passage is found at the end of the third chapter of Seder {Olam,5 from which we now quote:

The judgment of the evildoers in hell is twelve months as it is said “From new moon to new moon” (Isa. 66:23). Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said: from Passover to Pentecost, as it is said, “from holiday to holiday” (ibid.). After twelve months, the souls of Jewish sinners who transgressed the commandments disintegrate and their bodies decompose; they become ashes, hell expels them, and the wind disperses them under the feet of the righteous, as it is written: “And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 4:3 [MT 3:21]). But those who separate themselves from the community, for example the minim, informers, hypocrites and heretics, as well as those who cause terror in the Land of the Living, those who deny the resurrection to the dead, those who say that the Torah is not of divine origin and Jews who scoff at the words of the sages, will be locked in hell and they will be judged in it for all eternity, forevermore, as it is written “And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of the people who have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall

counted in the Mishna (Berakhot 5.3)” (p. 426). No doubt, Fleischer’s thorough argument calls for a thorough response, and we must respect his words in this regard: “The common practice in these parts, of grasping on to marginalia (that is: the marginal and circumstantial evidence that can, as the author well recognizes, be interpreted in different ways) and setting them at the center, to undermine their testimony, and to think that the central theme is thereby undone — in no way furthers the search for truth. Core assumptions in fundamental issues are not the result of a single piece of evidence, but rather of an aggregate. Therefore, anyone who questions the contribution of any single argument in what follows is advised to ignore it, and base his objective considerations on the remaining ‘aggregate’” (p. 397 n. 1). There is no doubt in my mind that Fleischer’s article ought to precipitate a revolution in the field of Jewish Studies, and scholars of Jewish prayer must not ignore it. I believe that some of the questions Fleischer’s article raises have been addressed in S. Safrai’s earlier study, “Gathering in the Synagogues on Festivals, Sabbaths and Weekdays,” British Archaeological Research (International Series 499; Oxford, 1989), 7-15. 3. The Hebrew text is based on the Zuckermandel edition (Halberstadt, 1881), 434. 4. With parallels at: M. Higger (ed.), Minor Tractates (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1970), 96, and see especially the sources cited at 145; and see also tosefta derekh eretz in M. Higger (ed.), Derekh Eretz Tractates (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1970), 278. 5. The critical edition is found in C. J. Milikowsky, Seder Olam, II: Text and Translation (Ph.D. Dissertation, Yale University, 1981), 229-231. See also Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel.’” A textually inferior version was published by Dov Ber Ratner, in his edition of Seder {Olam (New York, 1966), 16-17; see the notes and emendations therein.

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not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh” (Isa. 66:24). “And their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home (zevul)”(Ps. 49:14 [MT 49:15]). That is, Sheol wastes them away, but they are not wasted away. On account of what? That they lifted their hands against the zevul, as it is written: “their home (zevul),” and zevul refers to the Temple, as it is written, “I have built You an exalted house (zevul)” (1 Kgs. 8:13).6

The opening sentence is not found in the Tosefta parallel, but is found in m. Eduyot 2.10, where the view that “The judgment of evildoers in hell is 12 months” is cited in the name of Rabbi Aqiva. According to his view, which is shared by the other sages, the infernal punishment of the evildoers is temporary, since following that period “all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord” (Isa. 66:23). The discussion that follows in Seder {Olam, however, suggests that Jews who transgress the Torah and the commandments are punished in hell for twelve months and then destroyed (the same view is found in t. Sanhedrin 13.4-5). Not only does this contradict Rabbi Aqiva’s position — that is, that evildoers are relegated to hell for a limited time only — but there is an inherent difficulty with the notion that evildoers are to be destroyed, but that destruction is preceded by a stay in hell. It is more probable that this “transition” time in hell (prior to total destruction) emerged as a secondary development of Rabbi Aqiva’s position in m. Eduyot 2.10. Indeed, in the text of Seder {Olam the phrase “After twelve months” follows immediately after the citation from Eduyot 2.10, but before the punishment of Jewish transgressors. But while this is a plausible hypothesis, it should be noted that the Pesiqta de Rav Kahana suggests that the souls of evildoers dissipate after twelve months, with hell playing no purifying role in the account.7 In any case, the account that parallels t. Sanhedrin deals with two types of sinners and two infernal punishments meted out to them. Clearly, the editor sought to emphasize the severity of the second group, as its punishment is far worse than that of the first: it is, after all, far better to be destroyed than to be in hell “for all eternity, forevermore.” The same is true regarding the mendacity of the two groups of sinners — the second group is far more severe, and far more clearly defined, than the first. The first are merely “Jews who transgressed the commandments,”and there is no discussion of the nature of these transgressed commandments. Indeed, in the Tosefta they are referred to

6. Translation (with slight modifications) from Seder Olam: The Rabbinic View of Biblical Chronology, H. W. Guggenheimer (trans.) (Northvale, NJ, 1998), 42-43. 7. See Pesiqta de Rav Kahana, Y. Y. Mandelbaum (ed.), (New York, 1962), 165, and Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel’,” 327.

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simply as ‘sinners’ (fyeqwp). The second group, however, is made up of those who “separated themselves from the community,”and this is clearly a very severe transgression. Despite this, the second list contains a variety of loosely related sins, and we will try to understand how this list came to be and to identify its original intent. All the same, it does appear that there were once two distinct theories regarding infernal punishment, and that one of them did not need to stress that severity and precise nature of the sins. The punishment of the first group is that their souls “disappear, and their bodies decompose; they become ashes, hell expels them, and the wind disperses them.”8 Absolute annihilation is also mentioned in the New Testament, namely in Second Thessalonians (1:8-9), where Paul discusses — in Greek, of course — the great day of judgment, when “. . . those who do not know God and...those whodonotobeythegospelofourLordJesus...willsufferthepunishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”The same phrase appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls as well. Thus, the War Scroll speaks of the end of days, a time “of everlasting destruction for all the lot of Belial”(1QM 1.5). The Manual of Discipline also says, sublimely, of the sinner, that “his spirit will be obliterated, the dry with the moist, without mercy.9 May God’s anger and the wrath of His verdicts consume him for everlasting destruction” (1QS 2.14-15). The most important parallel for the present discussion is in column 5 of 1QS. There the author speaks of the need “to be segregated from all the men of injustice who walk along the path of wickedness” (5.10-11), since “they treated revealed matters with disrespect, and this is why wrath will rise up for judgment in order to effect revenge by the curses of the covenant, in order to administer fierce punishments for everlasting annihilation without there being any remnant” (5.12-13). This last passage from the Manual of Discipline alludes to Numbers 15:30-31: “But whoever acts high-handedly...affronts the Lord, and shall be

8. The punishment of absolute annihilation of the wicked is also mentioned in Enoch 84.5, and see also Enoch 91.19. As for the last verse, see: J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Cave 4 (Oxford, 1976), 260-261. Thus, the Aramaic original read “andba iwsl,” that is, “for an absolute annihilation.”And see the important comment of M. Black, The Book of Enoch (Leiden, 1985), 282, who cites the Targum to Isaiah 53:9. Clearly, the Targum to Isaiah reflects the first type of punishment for those damned to hell, following the typology of Tosefta Sanhedrin and Seder {Olam. 9. A similar curse is leveled against “all the men of the lot of Belial” at 1QS 2.7-8: “Ac- cursed are you, without mercy, according to the darkness of your deeds, and sentenced to the gloom of everlasting fire. May God not be merciful when you entreat him. May he not forgive by purifying your iniquities.” See also 4Q280 lines 4-5 (a passage discussed in P. J. Kobelski, Melchizedek and Melchireša [Washington D. C., 1981], 38). We will come across the idea that certain sinners will never be forgiven in what follows.

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cut off from among the people. Because of having despised the word of the Lord and broken His commandment, such a person shall be utterly cut off and bear the guilt.” The verse refers to people who have offended the Torah “high- handedly”10 and violated its commandments (as understood by the Qumran community) and therefore “such a person shall be utterly cut off and bear the guilt.” Or, as the Manual of Discipline declares, God will “administer fierce punishments for everlasting annihilation without there being any remnant.”It is fascinating to compare and contrast the Qumran interpretation to Numbers 15:30-31 with that of the rabbinic midrash, the Sifre Numbers.11 “Whoever acts high-handedly — this is one who reveals aspects of the Torah.” Rabbi Aqiva goes on to interpret the second hemistich of the verse, by playing on the repeated employment of the same root both in the absolute and finite forms (hikaret tikaret), an emphatic structure in biblical Hebrew (thus: “shall surely be cut off”): “hikaret — this refers to this world; tikaret — this refers to the world to come.” We find, then, a striking resemblance between Rabbi Aqiva’s interpretation and the position of the Manual of Discipline, on the one hand, and the punishment of “Jewish sinners who transgress the commandments”in Seder {Olam — their souls disintegrate and their bodies decompose — on the other, since these too will not be pardoned after their death. Even Rabbi Aqiva, whose views are generally moderate, is quite strict when it comes to one who reveals aspects of the Torah,12 “The dead are atoned for by their death, but these remain accountable (for this transgression).”But if such a sinner were to repent prior to his death, his transgression would, of course, be pardoned. Here too, then, despite all the severity of the issue at hand, we can recognize the human aspect of Rabbi Aqiva’s teaching. The question is, whether even prior to Rabbi Aqiva there were sages who were willing to employ such a be- nevolent dialectic argument in order to free certain sinners from their hellish fate. As we will see, Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:3213 does not reflect the same lenience that is typical of Rabbi Aqiva and his associates.

10. That is, in an impertinent fashion. See W. Bacher, Die exegetische Terminologie (Leip- zig, 1899; reprint Darmstadt, 1965), 1.149-151. 11. H. S. Horowitz, Sifre Numbers (Leipzig, 1917; reprint Jerusalem, 1992), 120-121. 12. Rabbi Aqiva is not cited by name, but this is the continuation of his earlier statement. 13. See D. Flusser, “Die Sünde gegen den heiligen Geist,” in E. L. Ehrlich (ed.), “Wie gus sind Deine Zelte Jaakow...,”Festschrift für R. Mayer (Gerlingen, 1986), 139-149, and especially p. 141. See also Sifre Deuteronomy §328 (Hammer edition, p. 339): “The Holy One, blessed be He, will forgive anything, but desecration of His name He will requite immediately.”It is worth noting that among the Noahide commandments, and even earlier, are prohibitions “that are written in the Torah, and were they not written — it would have been justified to write them” (Sifra ad Leviticus 18:4, and also t. Yoma 67b) — including blaspheming God’s name.

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We turn now to the punishment of the second group of sinners: they “will be locked in hell and they will be judged in it for all eternity, forevermore.” Here more than the other cases we should assume that those who are condemned to this eternal punishment have no hope of atonement under any circumstances; their sin is so severe that they have lost all hope. This interpretation finds support in Jesus’ response to those who accused him of exorcis- ing with the help of Beelzebul, the master of the demons. He says: “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:32).14 The same tradition is already attested in 1 Enoch,15 where one of the angels of Holiness is charged with the spirits of those dead who “sin against the spirit” (20.6). The essence of their crime is explained a little later on: “This accursed valley (that is, hell) is for those accursed forever; here will gather together all those accursed ones, those who speak with their mouth unbecoming words against the Lord and utter hard words concerning his glory. Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their judgment, in the last days” (27.2-3). According to 1 Enoch, then, those who speak against the Lord and his glory have not atonement in this world or in the next, but rather they are doomed to hell for all eternity, forevermore.16 Comparative analysis of the second type of sinners in Seder {Olam and t. Sanhedrin 13.5, on the one hand, and the parallel traditions in the Book of Enoch and the New Testament, may point us toward the original kernel concerning those damned to hell for all eternity. We saw that according to Enoch and Jesus’ saying, those who spoke ill of the Lord and cursed his Glory, will not be forgiven in this world nor the next. And indeed, we find this very accusation in our Tosefta tradition: the punishment for sinners who “lifted their hands against the zevul is an eternity in Hell.”17 The best interpretation of this statement is found in the Palestinian Talmud Sanhedrin 23c: “Just as one who blasphemes is hanged because he lifted his hands against a core be-

14. See Flusser, “Die Sünde.” Incidentally, Jesus’ dictum corresponds to Rabbi Aqiva’s statement about one who reveals aspects of the Torah: “hikaret — this refers to this world; tikaret — this refers to the world to come.” And see above, n. 11. 15. Fortunately, this particular section was preserved in Greek, and not only in the Ethiopic, which was made from the Greek. 16. Incidentally, we saw in the Sifre (above, n. 11), that one who high-handedly reveals aspects of the Torah has his soul cut off in the world to come. This is roughly what Seder {Olam says of the first type of sinners, while the second is damned to an eternity in hell (as is the case in the Book of Enoch and Jesus’ dictum). We will see in what follows that the two types of sinners in Seder {Olam, and in the parallel in t. Sanhedrin, were formed from two distinct traditions. 17. The Hebrew phrase lwbzb fhydy wtqp is discussed in J. Levy, Wörterbuch über die Talmudim (Berlin, 1924), 4.147.

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lief (rkeb wdy tqpq), so I extrapolate regarding all those who lift their hands against a core belief that they too are to be hanged.”18 In this context, the Hebrew lwbz refers to God’s glory, which the sinners have affronted.19 The gloss found in Seder {Olam and in t. Sanhedrin 13.5 (at the end), according to which zevul refers to the Temple, is, then, a secondary addition. We have seen that those who “lifted their hands against the zevul” and rebelled against divine kingship and the divine glory, will not be forgiven and are condemned to hell for all eternity, at least according to Jesus and the Book of Enoch. Clearly, then, this was the original meaning of Seder {Olam and Tosefta Sanhedrin. And yet, while this view is still articulated in these texts, there appears to be a shift in the overall sense. Now, those who have abandoned all hope are a distinct type within the broader category of those who separated themselves from the community as a whole inasmuch as they “lifted their hands against the zevul” and spoke blasphemously against God’s glory. True, those who are condemned to eternal damnation are still people whose mouth has spoken “unbecoming words against the Lord” and uttered “hard words concerning his glory” (Enoch 27.2-3), but the general thrust is somewhat different: these are sinners who have rebelled against God by virtue of their ideological and practical veering from the ways and beliefs of the people as a whole, thus causing damage to the Torah, the faith, and the People of Israel. Incidentally, the version in Seder {Olam is superior to that of t. Sanhe- drin 13.5 inter alia in that it does not count the vyqrwp, ‘the separatists,’ among a long list of sinners, but rightly locates them at the opening of the list, with the other sinners functioning as an enumeration of this general type: “Those who separate themselves from the Jewish community, e.g., the minim and the apostates.” I believe a still more specific definition of these separatists is possible.20 The list of those who have broken away from the community as a whole and who are thus condemned to hell for all eternity, may be divided into two sub-

18. For a better understanding of the relationship between these motifs within the broader framework, it may be useful to cite Numbers 15:30-31 once again: “But whoever acts high-handedly...affronts the Lord, and shall be cut off from among the people.” 19. lwbz is translated as ‘glory’ in the Septuagint to Psalm 49:15, and similarly in Jerome’s Latin translation from the Greek, though later, when Jerome translated the Psalms directly from the Hebrew he rendered it habiticulum (a residence), following the rabbinic interpretation. lwbz is also the name of the fourth heaven, according to b. Hagigah 12b. On the meaning of the biblical term see S. Löwenstamm’s article in the Biblical Encyclopedia (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1954), 2.907-908, s. v. lwbz. 20. I have benefited greatly from the acute analysis offered by Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel’,” 329-337.

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categories. The first includes “the minim and the apostates and the informants and the hypocrites,” while the second enumerates “the heretics (epikorsin) who deny the resurrection of the dead and state that the Torah is not of divine origin.” The latter refers only to core theological errors and is limited to the realm of right belief, and originates in Mishnah Sanhedrin 10.1 — or in a tradition that is preserved in this Mishnah.21 Superficially, it might be tempting to correlate the Mishnah’s list of those who have no place in the world to come with those doomed to eternal damnation in hell, especially as it would not be particularly difficult to include individuals who maintain de- viant ideological beliefs among “those who separate themselves from the community.” Nonetheless, it stands to reason that those who cut their ties with the People of Israel as a whole are enumerated in the first list. Thus it would appear that the three additional types were added at a later date to the first list, thus expanding the purview of the original statement.22 At first glance it appears that the author of our Seder {Olam was familiar with two established lists of typological sinners, and, wishing to delineate the types of “separatists,” he used these two existing lists of those who have ex- cluded themselves from the People of Israel as a whole.23 Nonetheless, I am of the opinion that this is true only of the second list of sinners, which really does originate in m. Sanhedrin 10.1. The first list, which includes “the minim and the apostates and the informants and the hypocrites” is of another source. True, this list is reflected in a variety of other sources, but it would appear that this is its original site of composition. From here it spread, either directly or indirectly, to the other sources mentioned. After all, the four types

21. The Mishnah states here: “These are they that have no share in the world to come: he that says that there is no resurrection of the dead prescribed in the Torah, and he that says that the Torah is not from Heaven, and a heretic (epikoros; literally, ‘Epicurean’).” 22. This expanded list now includes seven sinners! 23. This is the view of Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel’,” 331, who provides references to the parallel list in Seder {Olam. We would only add the statement that appears in Higger, Minor Tractates (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1970), 281, and see also the list of parallels at p. 145. Concerning the first, original, list, and its terminology, see van Loopik, The Ways of the Sages and the Way of the World (Tübingen, 1991), 56-60. In the Apocalypse of Peter, a second- century Christian text preserved in its entirety only in an Ethiopic translation, we find the following: “But the unrighteous, the sinners, and the hypocrites shall stand in the depths of darkness that shall not pass away, and their chastisement is the fire, and angels bring forward their sins and prepare for them a place wherein they shall be punished for ever, every one according to his transgression” (M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament [Oxford, 1924], 514). Clearly this statement is derived from our Baraita, in the original form which we have hypothesized. In- terestingly, the same text goes on to state that the generation of the flood and the idolaters will be burned in an eternal fire — just like the sinners enumerated in Seder {Olam and its parallels, prior to those whose punishment is eternity in hell.

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enumerated as having broken from Israel as a whole certainly fit the determination that they divorced themselves from the general public. Let us examine, for the sake of clarification, another passage that includes the list of four sinners: “The minim and the apostates, and the informants, and the hypocrites, and those who desecrate the name of God. Of them does Scripture state: ‘The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God’ (Ps 9:17), and ‘What is crooked cannot be made straight’ (Ecc 1:15).”24 Here we find a number of blasphemers in addition to our four established types: all these devi- ants are beyond redemption, and so those who “forget God” are seated in hell for all eternity. The language of this passage indicates that it is based on the same tradition preserved in Seder {Olam’s discussion of those who separate themselves from the Jewish people — to this list have been added three types of sinners, originally cited in m. Sanhedrin 10.1. As noted, the four typological sinners are all “separatists.” The first of these are the minim. Much has been written on this term,25 and there is no need to add to the discussion here, except to state the established fact that this term did not originally designate the Christians, and that it was only later that they were counted among the minim. Next come the apostates (fydmwqm), a term that in the Hebrew of the Sages designates apostasy in the broader sense of one who has turned his back on his faith — without necessarily converting to another religion.26 The third type is made up of the informants (owrwsm), that is, those who hand Jews over to the non-Jewish authorities.27 The various versions of Birkat ha-Minim, which will be discussed below, employ the term fynyqlm, but it should be noted that while mishnaic Hebrew knows the verb vyqlhl (to act as an informant), the noun vyqlm is not attested — strong support for reading owrwsm over fynyqlm. The severity of this accusation is heightened by the repeated occurrences of the verb rwsml (in Greek) in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ betrayal to the Roman authorities.28 Just prior to his being handed over to the authorities, Jesus himself alludes to the punishment that awaits the betraying informants: “The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have

24. Higger, Minor Tractates, 77 and 85. 25. See the literature cited above, n. 2, and Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel’,” 332, nn. 91-92. 26. See Milikowsky, “Gehenna and ‘Sinners of Israel’,” 332-333, and especially Levy, Wörterbuch, 3.282. 27. A comparison with the Qumran Temple Scroll 64.6-9 is apposite, and will be discussed in the second section, below. 28. For a list of the occurrences of rwsml in the New Testament discussion of the death of Jesus, see W. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago, 1979), 614.

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been better for that one not to have been born” (Matt. 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22). This statement fits the account of Seder {Olam and Birkat ha-Minim. The final group of sinners are the fypnj, the hypocrites.29 There is no question that the hypocrites belong to this list, even though they are omitted in some versions — including the Seder {Olam passage as it appears in t. San- hedrin 10.5 (and, following the Tosefta, in b. Rosh ha-Shanah 17a). The hypocrites are also not attested in any of the extant versions of Birkat ha-Minim. The reason for their omission is evident: the root -j-i-n underwent a semantic shift and in later Hebrew came to mean ‘flatterer.’ As a result, the idea that the fypnj, the “flatterers,” have separated themselves from the Jewish community no longer made sense to those who knew the term only in its later semantic development. How could flatterers be thought to have broken away from the public? But this was not always so. Already in the Ugaritic epic we find the phrase Fbl inj, meaning “the wickedness of your heart.”30 In biblical Hebrew as well, the root i-n-j refers to various wicked men and sinners, and the noun hpwnj can also refer to impurity. The Septuagint also translates the root in this sense, that is, as wickedness and the like.31 Furthermore, in the Wisdom of Ben Sira (16.6; 40.15; 41.10) the word appears in a pejorative sense. In 16.6 we find a parallelism between “a sinful band,”on the one hand, and “a godless people” (inj ywg), on the other. Similarly, in 40.15 Ben Sira juxtaposes

29. On the meaning of this term see J. Barr, “The Hebrew/Aramaic Background of ‘Hy- pocrisy’ in the Gospel,” in P. K. Davies and R. T. White (eds.), A Tribute to Geza Vermes (Shef- field, 1990), 307-326; Levy, Wörterbuch 2.83-84; Rabbenu Natan, Aruch Completum (New York, 1956), 448; M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim (New York, 1950), 1.482-485; L. Koehler and W. Baumgarten, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden, 1958), 317; Klaus Seybold’s article in Theologisches Wörterbuch zum A. T., G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren (eds.) (Stuttgart, 1982), 3.41-48. 30. See M. Dietrich, O. Lorentz and J. Sammartin, Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit (Neukirchen, 1976), under 1.18 I 17. See also G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan (Ma- drid, 1981), 381, 553. Already in Akkadian the word means ‘wickedness.’ 31. Two apparent exceptions are found in Job (34:30; 36:13), where inj is translated into Greek as Õpokr¾thv, no doubt a reflection of the new semantics of the root. See G. F. Moore, Ju- daism (New York, 1971), 2.192, who rightly cites the phrase hrwo ypynj in the Midrash Psalms 51.1 (Midrash Tehilim, S. Buber edition [Vilnius, 1892], 282, and see the parallels cited in Buber’s notes). The Greek Õpokr¾thv is also found in the Greek translation of Jesus’ words to the Phari- sees, particularly in Matthew 23. In his Hebrew translation of the New Testament, Franz Delitzsch renders this term fypynj. If this is indeed the Hebrew word Jesus used for the Phari- sees, it stands to reason that he adopted this pejorative designation from the Pharisees’ opponents, though he used it in the more moderate meaning of his day, suggesting that they are hypocrites. The matter, in any case, has not been settled. In the Manual of Discipline 4.10, the phrase inj bwr is cited as one of the traits of the wicked, but its precise meaning cannot be determined.

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“the offshoot of violence” with “the root of the godless” (inj qrwq). Ben Sira’s grandson, who translated the book into Greek, maintained the original sense of the Hebrew root. The word appears but once in the Book of Daniel (11:32), in the section composed during the decrees of Antiochus IV: “He shall seduce with intrigue (iynjy) those who violate the covenant.” There is some dispute among modern commentators whether the word is used in its original sense, or perhaps in the newer meaning of flattery.32 Apparently, the semantic shift in the root inj occurred at a relatively late time, and only in He- brew, since Syriac maintains the biblical sense of ‘wicked.’ As noted, from the time of the Tannaim and down to modern Hebrew, the root inj designates a flatterer, one who praises another in order to find favor in their eyes. Nonetheless, the biblical sense of fypnj did not disappear completely from the Hebrew of the sages even as late as the third century c.e. The following tradition is cited in the name of Rabbi Yonathan, or perhaps Rabbi Yohanan:33 “Every occurrence of the word hpwnj in Scripture, refers to the minim. The key verse for this interpretation is “trembling has seized the godless (fypnj)” (Isa. 33:14). Here the sage argues that the biblical sense of fypnj is identical with minim. Thus, the fypnj are rightly counted in the list of those who have rwbye ycrdm wqrp, alongside the minim. Clearly, the fypnj were characterized by a particular kind of wickedness, unlike that of the other sinners enumerated, but at the present there is no way to decide this critical issue.34

II. ‘Traitors’ in the Qumran Scrolls

We have tried to show that the end of Seder {Olam, Chapter Three, is based on the view that those who “separate themselves from the path of the community, for example the minim, theinformers,thehypocritesandtheheretics... lifted their hands against the zevul” and rebelled against the kingship of God. In order to clarify the background to this view we must turn to the Dead Sea Scrolls, which indicate that one aspect of this view is prevalent not only in ‘rabbinic’ Judaism, but was once, during the Hasmonean reign, shared by all Jews.

32. See especially J. A. Montgomery, The Book of Daniel (ICC; Edinburgh, 1959), 457-458; L. F. Hartman and A. A. Di Lella, The Book of Daniel (New York, 1978), 271. 33. Genesis Rabbah 48 (Bereshit Rabbah, Theodor and Albeck edition [Jerusalem, 1965], 480), where the tradition is cited in the name of Rabbi Yonathan, but in the name of Rabbi Yohanan in Midrash Hagadol to Genesis (Margaliyot edition [Jerusalem, 1947], 284). 34. See also van Loopik, The Ways of the Sages, 59.

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A previously unknown passage from the Damascus Document reads:

12....[Andwhoever] 13. divulges the secret of his people to the pagans, or curses his people or preaches 14. rebellion against those anointed with the spirit of holiness and [leads his people to] error [or rebels against] 15. God’s word. (4Q270 [= 4QDe], fragment 2.12-15)

The text survives in fragmentary form, so it is impossible to determine the precise nature of the sins enumerated here. Nonetheless, it is clear that the passage deals with an individual who “divulges the secret of his people to the pagans,”who curses his people and who “rebels against God’s word.”There appears to be a strong correlation between this passage and the account in Seder {Olam regarding those who “lifted their hands against the zevul.” One point of difference: in Seder {Olam the informants and the other sinners belong to a single category of those who rebel against the kingship of God, while in the Qumran fragment those who rebel against God’s word are another type of sinner, alongside those who betray their own people. As we will see presently, this is the situation in the Temple Scroll as well, one passage of which may clarify some of the obscure points in the Damascus Document fragment:

If a man passes on information against his people or betrays his people to a foreign nation, or does evil against his people, you shall hang him on a tree and he will die. On the evidence of two witnesses or on the evidence of three witnesses he shall be put to death and they shall hang him on the tree. If it happens that the man has committed a capital offence and he escapes amongst the nations and curses his people, the children of Israel, he also you shall hang on the tree and he will die. And their corpse shall not spend the night on the tree; instead you shall bury them that day because those hanged on a tree are cursed by God and man; thus you shall not defile the land which I give you for inheritance. (11QTemple 64.6-13)35

35. For a discussion of this passage see J. M. Baumgarten, “Hanging and Treason in Qumran and Roman Law,” Eretz Israel 16 (1982), 7-16; Yadin, The Temple Scroll (Jerusalem, 1983), 1.373-379; 2.289-291. Yadin uses this passage to reconstruct Pesher Nahum 1.1-11 as a reference to the hanging of the Pharisees while still alive, as punishment for their having caused Demetrius of Syria to wage war on their king (see Josephus, JW 1.97 and AJ 13.380-381). H. Eshel has com- mented to me that it would appear that if Alexander Jannaeus did hang people alive, this was probably done in accordance with his halakhic position. As for the guilt of those hanged, Yadin rightly notes that this is undoubtedly a serious crime “as a result of which the traitor may de-

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This passage deals with two types of sinners who have forged bonds with the gentiles and thus, in effect, “separated from the community,”both of which are condemned to hanging on a tree. The first involves one who “betrays his people to a foreign nation,”that is, an informant. The second is more difficult to define, but we need not concern ourselves with its precise details; it is the man who “escapes amongst the nations and curses his people, the children of Israel” both as the crowning act of treason and as an attempt to find favor in the eyes of the enemy. Whatever the details, there is a clear similarity between the two types of sinners condemned to death by hanging in the Temple Scroll, and the statement from the Damascus Document cited above. In the latter, it is “whoever divulges the secret of his people to the pagans, or curses his people,” as well as one who “rebels against God’s word.” There can be no question that the curses of the Damascus Document are the equivalent of the blasphemer, as described in Mishnah Sanhedrin 6.4: “All that have been stoned must be hanged. So Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: None is hanged save the blasphemer and the idolator.”36 In other words, the same punishment is meted out to the one who curses in the Qumran scroll as to the blasphemer in the Mishnah. Taken together, these texts indicate that even though the Temple Scroll 64.10 speaks only of one who curses his people, this is merely one aspect of the accusation of cursing God Himself. These later discussions of the laws of hanging are based on Scripture: “When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you for possession” (Deut. 21:22-23). We have already cited part of Mishnah Sanhedrin 6.4 concerning the hanging of the blasphemer and the idolater, which goes on to state, “Why is this one hanged? Because he blessed [= cursed] the Name, and the name of heaven was profaned.”This indicates that the sages provide a two- fold interpretation of the biblical phrase “under God’s curse”: one who curses God and the curse of God. The author of the Temple Scroll also seems to be offering a two-fold reading: hanging is the punishment for one who curses, and as a result the sinner is himself cursed.37 It should be noted that this interpretation may in part be rooted in Psalm 37:22: “. . . those cursed by the Lord shall be cut

liver his people to the enemy and cause a tragedy to befall them” (Temple Scroll 1.373). Josephus too holds that while Jannaeus’ punishment is terribly cruel, the crime — inviting a foreign enemy into their land — was heinous. Unfortunately, we have no record of the rabbinic sages’ position regarding the proper execution of traitors. 36. See Yadin, The Temple Scroll, 1.375. 37. See Yadin, The Temple Scroll, 2.291.

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off.” The Hebrew for ‘those cursed,’ wyllkm, is written in defective orthography,38 and so could also be read as the active form, ‘those who curse the Lord’— a reading that is, in fact, attested in the Septuagint.39 We have seen that both the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document portray the cursers and the informants separately, while Seder {Olam includes both under the category of those who have “lifted their hands against the zevul.” We may hypothesize that at one point, treason and cursing God were seen as two aspects of the same horrific wickedness, namely, rebellion against God and the People of God. Presumably, the evolution proceeded as follows: originally the crime in question was cursing God, but this was later expanded to include informants since their actions came to be seen as a type of blas- phemy. Over time other transgressions of a fundamentally similar nature were appended to them, including the minim. In what follows we will try to unravel the basic significance of Birkat ha- Minim. But in order to do that we must first survey the path leading up to the benediction and propose a hypothesis regarding the evolution of the concept of the sinners condemned to eternal punishment. One key comment: the fact that a particular idea or motif reaches a new stage does not entail that its previous meaning simply disappears or ceases to be relevant. Often, it coexists alongside its heir. It appears that there was an early view that those who lifted their hand against the zevul, cursing God and God’s glory, would not be granted forgiveness in this world or the next, and are condemned to an eternity in hell. This view is attested in 1 Enoch (20.1, and chapter 27) and in the logion of Jesus (Matt. 12:32). In the second stage, which occurred already in the Hasmonean times, the informants were added to the list, alongside the blasphemers. This stage is attested in the additional material from Qumran. The third stage involves a new and more precise definition of those who will receive such severe divine punishment: those who have rebelled against God’s kingship and lost all hope of redemption are “those who separate themselves from the path of the community, for example the minim, the informers, the hypocrites and the heretics.”We have here, then, the preliminary kernel of the discussion in Seder {Olam and its parallels. Still later the sages added other sinners to the list, a process whose genesis is in Mishnah Sanhedrin 1.10, and the result is the version attested in Seder {Olam. This text has been further reworked by the editor of the Tosefta, and is found in Tosefta Sanhedrin 13.5. Having set forth this

38. The Qumran pesher to this verse has an interlinear vav: wyllwkm. See J. M. Allegro (ed.), DJD V (Oxford, 1968), 44 and Plate XVI; J. Strugnell, Revue de Qumran 7 (1970), 214. 39. See Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, 1984), 111.

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preliminary outline, we can now turn to our main argument, that it was the third stage, focusing on the eternal punishment of those who “separate themselves from the path of the community,” that provides the conceptual backdrop to Birkat ha-Minim.

III. The Various Versions of Birkat ha-Minim

Elbogen famously stated that “[n]o benediction has undergone as many textual variations as this one,”40 and at first glance he would appear to be correct. A closer examination, however, reveals that the situation is not so desperate.41 There are, essentially, two core versions of the blessing: the regular, “Babylo- nian” version,42 and the version preserved in the Cairo Genizah, namely, the Byzantine Palestinian version.43 The following is the Ashkenazic version in its original form:44

40. Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 45. 41. An accurate picture may be garnered from the version of Birkat ha-Minim found in the Aleppo liturgy: “The minim will have no hope and the informants and their ilk will all instantly perish, and all the enemies of Your people Israel, all their haters and those who wish them ill — they will all speedily be cut off and destroyed. Please remove the yoke of the gentiles from our necks, and do not place us in the hands of our enemies, and let the wicked kingdom be uprooted and broken in our days. Blessed are You Lord, who breaks our enemies and vanquishes the wicked.”This is an expanded reworking of the standard Birkat ha-Minim. The same is true of Birkat ha-Minim in the liturgy of Crimonia. 42. See L. Finkelstein, “The Development of the Amidah,” in Pharisaism in the Making (New York, 1972), 318-319, and the versions cited there. The versions of the Sefardi, Yemenite, and Persian communities may be found in B. Z. Binyamin, “Birkat ha-Minim and the Ein Gedi Inscription,” 72. The original Ashkenazic version is cited in Siddur }Otzar ha-Tefilot (Vilnius, 1914), 1.336-337, and see also ‘tikkun tefilah,’ the helpful commentary of Aryeh Leib Gordon, pp. 298-299. See also Seligman Baer, Sefer Avodat Israel (Jerusalem, 1937), 93-94. The benediction according to the prayer book of Rav Amram Gaon is in D. Goldschmidt’s edition (Jerusalem, 1972), 25. See also: D. Goldschmidt, Studies in Prayer and Piyyut (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1979), 199, where he cites Maimonides’ version; the Rumanian version is at p. 130; and the version of a prayer book from the 15th century is at p. 291. 43. A bibliography of Genizah witnesses to Palestinian liturgy is provided by E. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy and Liturgical Custom in the Genizah (Jerusalem, 1988), 9-10. See also S. Assaf, “From the Palestinian Prayer Book” (Hebrew), Sefer Dinbourg (Jerusalem, 1949), 118; S. Schechter, JQR 10 (1897), 656-657; Jacob Mann, “Genizah Fragments of the Palestinian Order of Service,” HUCA 2 (1925), 306, as well as the Amidah in piyyut form, p. 309. The fragment that Mann reproduces on p. 310 has a “Babylonian” conclusion — “who breaks our enemies and vanquishes the wicked” — and was influenced by the standard version; see Mann’s discussion, pp. 301-303. Other Genizah fragments were published by Israel Lewy, REJ 53 (1907), 232-241. 44. See Siddur }Otzar ha-Tefilot 1.336-337. See also, D. Goldschmidt, Siddur Tefilat Israel

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May the informants have no hope And all the minim instantly perish And all your enemies speedily be cut off And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted, and broken, and vanquished in our days. Blessed are You O Lord, who breaks enemies and vanquishes the wicked.

Here is the blessing as found in the Yemenite liturgy, which has its origins in Maimonides’ version:

May the apostates have no hope And all the minim and the informants (fyrswm)45 instantly perish And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted and broken in our days. Blessed are You Lord, who breaks enemies46 and vanquishes the wicked.

There are four extant witnesses to the Palestinian version of Birkat ha-Minim, two of one kind and two of another. This is the format of the first kind:

May the apostates have no hope And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted in our days And the Christians and the minim instantly perish. Let them be erased from the Book of Life and not be recorded alongside the righteous. Blessed are You Lord, who vanquishes the wicked.

Here is the second form of Birkat ha-Minim in the ancient Palestinian format:

May the apostates have no hope, if they do not return to your Torah, And the Christians and the minim perish; Let them be erased from the Book of Life and not be recorded alongside the righteous. Blessed are You Lord, who vanquishes the wicked.

(Ramat Gan, 1969), 49. Goldschmidt cites the blessing in its original form but labels it “another version.” 45. This word, attested in Yemenite prayer books, is not found in Maimonides’ version of the blessing, as found in Goldschmidt, Studies in Prayer and Piyyut. 46. Some witnesses read ‘evil ones’ (fyeqr) for ‘enemies’ (fybywa), a change attested in the prayer books of Rav Amram Gaon, Rav Saadia Gaon, and in the Rumanian Jewish community. ‘Enemies,’ however, is undoubtedly the original language of the “Babylonian” blessing. It also appears that the first half of the conclusion is not attested in Palestinian witnesses.

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The two Palestinian versions differ in that the second lacks the phrase “And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted in our days,”and in its place, following the opening statement “may the apostates have no hope,” there appears the qualification: “if they do not return to your Torah.” This renewed hope for the apostates is part and parcel of the more humane attitude that took root in the time of the Tannaim and the Amoraim, and is in the spirit of Rabbi Aqiva.47 According to this sage, even the worst sinners, whose sins are never atoned for, are granted forgiveness if they repent prior to their death. And yet, the first chapter indicated that the punishment meted out to these sinners is eternal and absolute, and thus we see that the moderate and more merciful approach stands in tension with the core idea of Birkat ha-Minim, which is attested in all its versions: “Let the apostates (and the like) have no hope.” We may conclude, then, that the phrase “if they do not return to your Torah” is a secondary addition, indeed, one not attested in all the Palestinian witnesses of Birkat ha-Minim. The other difference between the Palestinian versions is, as noted, that the second lacks the petition for the destruction of the “wicked kingdom,” even though this is clearly part of the prayer, since it appears in almost all the other versions. It is absent from the two Genizah texts, but even they end with the conclusion “who vanquishes the wicked (fydz eyncm).” We may assume, then, that the omission of the “wicked kingdom” phrase and the appearance of the merciful statement in its stead in the two Genizah witnesses, is sheer coincidence. After all, we only have four Genizah texts that include Birkat ha- Minim, and there is no possibility of reaching any sustainable conclusions with such a small sample. On the other hand, the conclusion is identical in all four Palestinian texts: “Blessed are You O Lord, who vanquishes the wicked.” This, in contrast to the longer conclusion of the standard “Babylonian” conclusion: “Blessed are You O Lord, who breaks enemies and vanquishes the wicked.”This, indeed, is the concluding statement in all the “Babylonian” traditions. Only the modern Sephardic Jews of North Africa occasionally replace the word ‘wicked’ with minim, but this is undoubtedly a late change. Inci- dentally, the fact that the word minim does not appear in any of the original concluding statements of the blessing, leads us to conclude that the name Birkat ha-Minim was not appended to the blessing from the outset, and we shall return to this theme below. Two more comments must be made regarding the language of Birkat ha-Minim. The first concerns the term fynqlm, ‘informants.’ We already noted that the verb vyqlhl is attested in rabbinic Hebrew, but not the nomi-

47. See n. 12, above.

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nal form vyqlm. It is no surprise, then, that this form is not found in many of the versions of Birkat ha-Minim, since it is a late form and was incorporated into the blessing when the nominal form gained currency, in the Hebrew of the Middle Ages. The earlier form is owrswm (or fyrswm),which is current in early rabbinic Hebrew. This term also appears in the list of sinners in Seder {Olam and its rabbinic parallels, where it stands for the later fynyqlm.And rightly so, since the informants, owrswm, are a natural part of Birkat ha- Minim, which was originally composed precisely against them. Thus it is odd that the informants do not appear in the list of sinners of Birkat ha-Minim in the Palestinian version, nor in the version of Rav Saadia Gaon, and apparently not in those of Maimonides or Rav Amram Gaon. I believe this pseudo- problem can be resolved if we assume that at different times and different places, the informants were omitted from Birkat ha-Minim since they now represented the most severe and the most immediate danger to the Jewish people. The second comment concerns the word ‘Christians,’ which is juxtaposed with minim in the early Palestinian versions and, for whatever reason, in the liturgy of Rav Amram Gaon.48 Scholars today agree, and rightly so, that the Christians were not mentioned in the original Birkat ha-Minim.49 There seems to be no need, today, to argue against the old view, that Birkat ha- Minim was incorporated into the Amidah prayer at Yavne (Jamnia) in order to exclude the Christians from Israel as a whole; it has been widely discred- ited.50 We will return to the question of when and why Birkat ha-Minim was composed, but regarding the word ‘Christians’ it is clear that it was not erased by Christian (or internal) censors, since it is absent in the liturgy of communities in non-Christian countries as well, even when these countries contain sizable Christian minorities against whom the blessing could be aimed. Justin Martyr (circa 165 c.e.) states repeatedly that the Jews in their synagogues curse those who believe in Jesus, suggesting that Birkat ha-Minim was current in his day and aimed primarily at Christianity, which was, at the time, the largest Jewish sect. Of course, it also broke the geographic boundaries of Is- rael and spread among the nations of the world. A few years before Justin’s

48. See the Goldschmidt edition, 22. 49. See the secondary literature cited above, n. 2, as well as E. Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, revised edition by G. Vermes, F. Millar, and M. Black (Ed- inburgh, 1979), 462-463, which cites from Justin Martyr, Epiphanius, and Jerome. 50. See Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 33. As we will see presently, I do not accept Elbogen’s view, according to which the sages of Yavne decreed that Christians be included in Birkat ha- Minim, and nor do most scholars today. For a different view of the Amidah generally, and Birkat ha-Minim in particular, see Fleischer, “On the Beginnings of Obligatory Jewish Prayer.”

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statements, one of the sages foresaw the future developments and likened Christianity’s conquest of the world to a ‘yellow peril’51 — a sign that the eschaton was at hand. “With the footprints of the Messiah, presumption shall increase and dearth reach its height...theempire shall fall into heresy and there shall be none to utter reproof.”52 Of course, this does not mean that the word ‘Christians’ was used in Birkat ha-Minim. However, the testimonies of Epiphanius (died 403 c.e.) and Jerome (died 420 c.e.) indicate that ‘Chris- tians’ were named in Birkat ha-Minim no later than the fourth century. Justin Martyr, Epiphanius and Jerome all spent a significant part of their lives in Is- rael, and it stands to reason that their statements are a reflection of the situation there. To summarize this last point: Birkat ha-Minim predates the emergence of Christianity, and its original form could not have referred to Christians. Christians are only mentioned in the liturgy of Byzantine Palestine, but their inclusion in the blessing occurred no later than the fourth century c.e. It further appears that only the Palestinian liturgy of the time mentions the Chris- tians, and this custom did not spread to any other community. Note that ‘Christians’ precedes the minim in the Palestinian versions of Birkat ha- Minim, proof, to my mind, that the word is a secondary insertion. Now that we have established that the “Christian Question” is not central to Birkat ha-Minim, we must examine the different versions anew, without trying to reconstruct a single, original version. Rather, we shall first examine the different epithets that designate those who revolt against the kingship of heaven. We have seen that neither the Christians nor the informants belong to the early stratum of Birkat ha-Minim, and we will devote a separate discussion to the “wicked kingdom” that appears in the main body of the blessing. The minim are always mentioned, naturally, along with the informants, while the apostates are cited in the opening line in Maimonides (and the Yemenite liturgy), Rav Saadia Gaon, and the Palestinian liturgy. There are, of course, other derogatory names, but it is no coincidence that we again come across the minim, the informants and the apostates, who make up three of the four types of sinner in the enumeration of Seder {Olam. The hypocrites (fypnj) do not appear in any version of Birkat ha-Minim, since the later semantic development of the word made it unfit for the blessing.

51. See ‘Yellow Peril,’ The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Oxford, 1983), 1249. 52. Mishnah Sotah 9.15, where it is part of a secondary addition. The statement is also found in b. Sanhedrin 97b, Midrash Rabba to Canticles 2.13, and Tosefta Derekh Eretz (Higger edition), 2.245. See van Loopik, The Way of the Sages and the Way of the World, 321; R. Travers Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash (New York, 1975), 207-209. The statement is attributed either to Rabbi Yehudah or to Rabbi Nehemiah.

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The first line of the benediction — in all extant versions — expresses the hope that those against whom the blessing is aimed “have no hope.” This is undoubtedly one of the important foci of the blessing, and further evidence that the blessing originally grew out of the same conceptual soil as Seder {Olam. Namely, the view that “those who separate themselves from the community, for example the minim, informers,hypocritesandheretics...willbe locked in hell and they will be judged in it for all eternity, forevermore.”They have no hope for divine forgiveness. Thus, Seder {Olam and its parallels aid us in understanding the intent of Birkat ha-Minim. Needless to say, this is not the only time that an account of how things are or ought be, finds expression in liturgy in the form of a petitionary prayer.53 If so, one of the main goals of Birkat ha-Minim is to express in liturgy the wish that there be “no hope” for those who separate themselves from the community. But at some later time, another goal was incorporated and Birkat ha- Minim was no longer aimed against Jews who set themselves apart from the Jewish people as a whole (and cooperate with the foreign conqueror), but rather against the wicked and haughty themselves (that is, the ‘wicked kingdom,’ i.e., the Roman Empire).54 All the extant versions of the blessing (except for two of the four Genizah versions) express the hope that “the wicked kingdom be uprooted.”55 The title “wicked kingdom” (vwdz owclm) does not necessarily refer to the Roman Empire, but could apply to any wicked gentile government before or after the Roman period.56 Already in Jeremiah (50:31-32) the word vwdz refers to Babylon, while Ben Sira (35.22-23) prays for a future time in which God will uproot the wicked government of the gentiles from the world:57

53. Another example of this phenomenon occurs in the original version of the blessing following the reading of the Torah; see D. Flusser, “He Has Planted Eternal Life in Our Midst,” Tarbiz 58 (1989), 147-153. The phrase “may they have no hope” was correctly interpreted by Rabbenu Yehudah ben Yaqqar, Nahmanides’ teacher, who writes: “Let the apostates have no hope” . . . since they are condemned for all generations; “and all the minim perish in an instant” — the minim and the apostates share the same fate, A Commentary on the Prayers and Benedic- tions (Jerusalem, 1979), 1.48. 54. Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 36. 55. See Flusser, “The Jewish-Christian Schism (Part 2),”641-642. See also the list collected by L. Zunz, Die Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters (Frankfurt a. M., 1920), 452, s.v. vwdz and fydz, and see also p. 460. It is likely that the statement “You gave over...thewickedintothehands of those who perform your Law” — part of the Hanukkah liturgy — refers to the Seleucids. 56. In the Amidah service of the High Holy Days, the phrase “wicked kingdom” is not political, but refers to the government of evil as such, as the parallel in 1QMysteries demonstrates. On this see my “The Jewish-Christian Schism (Part 2)” and “The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy,” in the present volume. 57. Translation based on Patrick W. Skehan, The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Anchor Bible 39; New York, 1987), with slight changes.

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God indeed will not delay and like a warrior will not be still Till he breaks the backs and wreaks vengeance upon of the merciless the nations Till he destroys the scepter and breaks off short the staff of the wicked of the sinner

So great is the similarity between Ben Sira’s words and Birkat ha-Minim’s hope that the wicked kingdom be uprooted, that it is impossible to reject out of hand the possibility that Ben Sira’s words influence Birkat ha-Minim indirectly, or, alternately, that both are drawing from a third, common source. Does the juxtaposition of two distinct goals in Birkat ha-Minim — the one against those who separate themselves from the community, the other against the wicked kingdom — indicate that it was once made up of two separate blessings?58 As we will see, the main changes in the Amidah were made on account of the plurality and flexibility of the benedictions, so it is difficult to suppose that Birkat ha-Minim could have undergone fundamental changes post-Yavne. By ‘plurality and flexibility’ I mean the different possible permutations of prayers and blessings, varying from custom to custom and even from individual to individual. Indeed, it appears to have been possible to deconstruct one of the Eighteen Benedictions to two or more distinct blessings.59 We will see that this was in fact done with Birkat ha-Minim, and indeed our structural analysis suggests that the blessing includes two distinct components: one aimed against the minim and one aimed against the wicked kingdom. In light of the extant evidence it is certainly possible that the blessing against the minim was, at some point, inserted into the blessing against the wicked kingdom, or vice versa. In order to verify this claim, we propose an experimental reconstruction of a prototype of Birkat ha-Minim, one that includes all the extant versions. This hypothetical reconstruction is based on the two forms of the “Babylonian” version:

May the apostates have no hope And all the minim and the informants instantly perish And all your enemies speedily be cut off And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted and broken in our days. Blessed are You O Lord, who breaks enemies and vanquishes the wicked.

58. Safrai believes this to be the case (personal communication). 59. See my article “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 269.

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There is no doubt that the ancient version of the fourth line was “And may the wicked kingdom be uprooted and broken in our days.” The material we have examined thus far (as well as other considerations) indicates that the word rgmo in the Ashkenazic liturgy is a secondary addition. In addition we have seen that in a number of versions the word eyncow found its way from the conclusion of the blessing into the main body. As a result, Birkat ha- Minim, which was originally phrased in a third person, passive voice (except for the conclusion, of course) became a supplication of God!60 Almost all the extant versions open with the word apostates. It is unclear, however, whether the phrase “and all your enemies speedily be cut off,” which appears only in the liturgy of Ashkenazic Jewry, is original or a secondary addition. This much is clear: the bi-partite “Babylonian” conclusion is to be preferred to the shorter, Palestinian conclusion, “Blessed are You Lord, who vanquishes the wicked,” as it appears the original conclusion referred to two opponents: the enemies and the wicked. These ‘wicked’ are, of course, identical with the ‘wicked kingdom’ that is mentioned in the main body of the blessing, while the ‘enemies’ are internal, e.g., minim. If we accept the authenticity of the third line of the reconstructed prayer — a line found only in the Ashkenazic liturgy — we find that the main body of the blessing also refers to the minim and their ilk by means of the word ‘enemies.’ Note that the mentioning of two elements in the conclusion of Birkat ha-Minim is unpar- alleled: the other conclusions in the Amidah have only one subject, except for the Palestinian version of the blessing for Jerusalem that refers to “the God of David, the builder of Jerusalem.” But even there the phrase “God of David” was famously inserted as a new subject. If the “Babylonian” conclusion is, then, correct, this may be an indication that the version of Birkat ha-Minim that we have today emerged as a synthesis of two originally distinct blessings. Working on the assumption that Birkat ha-Minim is composed of two originally different blessings, I elsewhere proposed61 that the juxtaposition of these two was done in the time of Yavne (Jamnia), by Shmuel the Lesser.62 I further proposed that the purpose of this juxtaposition was not to further in-

60. Comparative analysis of the various versions indicates that there were some who sensed that eyncow is a foreign addition, and two solutions were suggested. In two ancient Ashkenazic prayer books, the High Holy Day prayer books of Worms and of Vitry (see Goldschmidt, Studies in Prayer and Piyyut, pp. 25, 29), we read wnybywa lc eynco while others propose: fowa eyncow. See Nusakh Italia (Livorno, 1846), 1.15b (following the liturgy of Crete, as well as the Rumanian liturgy, cited in Goldschmidt, ibid., 130). 61. Flusser, “The Jewish-Christian Schism,” 641-643. 62. See b. Berakhot 28b-29a; p. Berakhot 4, 8a; H. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden (Leipzig, 1983), 4.403.

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crease the people’s hatred of the Roman Empire that had destroyed Jerusa- lem, but to the contrary: if the various “separatists” (fyqrwp) appear in the blessing alongside the wicked kingdom, it follows that they are rebuked just as sharply as the hated Romans. In any case, there is no evidence to suggest that Birkat ha-Minim was composed during the Yavne period in order to check whether a person leading the prayer service was a min.63 The closest we find is the following statement concerning the congregational prayer leader:64 “One does not insist that he begin a prayer anew [in the case of an error], except if he did not say the benedictions ‘Who resurrects the dead’ or ‘Who vanquishes the wicked’ or ‘Who builds Jerusalem’,” for fear that he is a min. The repetition of the prayer is justified as follows: if the prayer leader is indeed a min, he will be cursing himself and the congregation will answer ‘amen.’ But even if we accept this discussion as historically accurate, there is still no indication that the blessing was composed in order to ferret out the minim and expel them from the congregation. My hypothesis notwithstanding, I must admit that there is no clear-cut evidence regarding what decisions were made at Yavne regarding Birkat ha- Minim. This much I do consider certain: Birkat ha-Minim in its present form is a composite of a blessing against the wicked kingdom, and another that states that those who separate themselves from the community have no hope. This assumption is supported by a passage in t. Berakhot 3.25 — which admittedly raises a whole new set of problems — that states:65 “One may include the benediction of the minim in that of the separatists, and the benediction of the gentiles in that of the elders, and the benediction of David in that of Jerusalem. And if one said each as a blessing unto itself, he has fulfilled his legal obligation.” Incidentally, this passage is a testament to a comment we made earlier, namely that congregants had the freedom to disassemble the individual benedictions of the Amidah and produce two separate benedictions, or to the contrary, to unite two or more into a single benediction. Here are Lieberman’s comments concerning the beginning of the passage: “Thus we learn that this benediction (Birkat ha-Minim in its original form) was originally a curse against the perushim . . . that is, against individuals whose custom it was to set themselves apart (qwrpl)...indirestraits...this curse was aimed against all the sects and individuals who threatened the unity of the

63. Graetz was the first to propose this interpretation, though he did so in a very qualified way. See Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, 96. 64. p. Berakhot, 5.3, 9c, and see Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber (ed.) (New York, 1946), Le- viticus 3, p. 3. 65. See Saul Lieberman’s edition of the Tosefta (New York, 1956), 18; Louis Ginzberg, Commentary and Novellae to the Yerushalmi (Hebrew) (New York, 1941), 334-338.

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community. The benediction against the separatists existed long before Shmuel the Small, as he was the one who fixed the benediction so as to explicitly mention the minim, since they started to threaten the community as a whole. It had existed as an independent benediction, which allowed the Tosefta to state in what follows that if an individual said these as a unit unto themselves he fulfilled his religious obligation.”66 It should be noted that for the Hebrew speakers of the day, the word qwrp is semantically equivalent to qrwp, as we find in other intransitive verbs such as bcwr-bwcr. It is clear enough why, over time, the word fyqwrp was omitted from Birkat ha-Minim. For one thing, the meaning of the word was no longer current, a dynamic we saw with the word inj (hypocrite). More importantly, the rabbinic Sages came to be called fyqwrp, and we will see below that they were unhappy with this epithet on account of its negative connotations. Nonethe- less, the passage in the Tosefta demonstrates that even those who came to be known by this epithet continued to speak of the fyqwrp as a derogatory term, i.e., as those who separate themselves from the community. This is an important finding for the history of the word. In any case, they preferred to omit the word from Birkat ha-Minim, even while Seder {Olam and its parallels indicate that the phrase “those who separate themselves from the community” was once the phrase used to describe those who chose to break with the Jewish community — thus it was appropriate for the term to appear in Birkat ha- Minim. Saul Lieberman’s hypothesis, that there was once a benediction aimed against those who separate themselves from the community, and that Shmuel the Small “fixed the benediction so as to explicitly mention the minim,”is based on the accepted text of t. Berakhot 3.25: “One may include the benediction of the minim in that of the separatists,” and this is in fact attested in the extant manuscripts of the Tosefta. But early citations of this passage reflect a different text altogether:67 “One may include the benediction of the minim and of the separatists in that of ‘vanquishes the wicked.’”68 This version fits

66. Saul Lieberman, Tosephta ki-Fshuta (New York, 1955), Order of Zera}im, 1.53-55. 67. See above, n. 66, and below, the end of n. 69. Here are the variant readings of the key phrase: Rabbi Isaiah of Trani — “One may include the benediction of the minim and sinners (fyeqwp) in that of ‘vanquishes the wicked’”; Sefer Yihusei Tannaim ve-Amoraim — “One may include the benediction of the minim in that of the wicked”; p. Berakhot 8a — “One may include the benediction of the minim and of the sinners (on folio 5a: the transgressors [fyeqr]) in that of ‘vanquishes the wicked’.” On the various Tosefta manuscripts see M. Krupp, “The Tosefta Manuscripts,”in S. Safrai (ed.), Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum: Literature of the Sages (Assen/Maastricht and Philadelphia, 1987), 1.301-302. 68. Lieberman is correct, of course, that fyeqwp is just a corruption of fyqwrp. The ref-

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perfectly with our hypothesis, that Birkat ha-Minim was composed of two distinct benedictions.69 The one expressed hope for the speedy uprooting of the wicked kingdom, while the other aimed at those who had separated from the community (the perushim), with the minim constituting an organic part of this list. In order to better understand this dynamic, then, it is necessary to consider the emotional and social response of the Jewish people as a whole to those who, to their mind, separated from the community.

IV. Those Who Separate from the Community

We have established that those who separate from the community were referred to in brief as ‘separatists,’ perushim.70 We will have opportunity to touch on the paradox that the name perushim has come to be associated with the rabbinic sages, as they were — at the apex of their power — the outstand-

erence to fydz, ‘the wicked’ (or: fydz eyncm ‘who vanquishes the wicked’), has to do with the conclusion of Birkat ha-Minim. 69. Our analysis would lead us to prefer the phrase “One may include the benediction of the separatists in that of the wicked (fydz).” If we may offer a speculative and tentative reconstruction of the first half of Birkat ha-Minim, it would be: “May the separatists have no hope and all the minim and the informants (and the hypocrites) immediately perish....”Theview that Birkat ha-Minim is a composite of two benedictions — one against those who separate from the community and another against the wicked kingdom — is supported by the (Babylo- nian) conclusion: “who breaks enemies and vanquishes the wicked.” Prior to the juxtaposition of the two benedictions, the Amidah most likely contained a separate blessing against the wicked kingdom. It stands to reason that the natural location of this blessing is between the other two eschatological benedictions: the one dealing with the ingathering of exiles, and the one dealing with the rebuilding of Jerusalem. These three benedictions probably formed a distinct unit within the Amidah. This was apparently one approach, while another involved the insertion of a tripartite unit between “Who gathers in his exiled, Israel (larqy wme yjdn ubkm)” and the blessing for Jerusalem, a unit consisting of “Restore our Judges (wnytpwq hbyqh),” Birkat ha-Minim, and the benediction of the righteous. These two approaches were apparently united at Yavne, when the benediction against the wicked kingdom was inserted into the benediction against the minim (or the separatists, fyqwrp). In writing this article it came to my attention that a similar hypothesis was raised by K. Kohler, “The Origin and Composition of the Eighteen Benedictions,” HUCA 1 (1924), 391, 401-402. Kohler bases his proposition on Meqor ha- Berakhah, Landeshut’s commentary to the prayer book Higayon Lev (Königsburg, 1845), 65-66; he cites the view of Rabbenu Isaiah of Trani in Sefer ha-Makhri{a, who, in turn, cites the version of Tosefta Berakhot 3.25 cited above. In my analysis I have used a new critical edition: “Tosfot u- Fisqei Bet Din {al Divrei Rabbenu Yishaiah Mitrani ha-Zaqen {al Masekhet Ta{anit,” Nisan Zaksh (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1963). Rav Ze}ev Gottholder called my attention to this edition. 70. The root p-r-sh in the sense of ‘set oneself apart’ occurs only once in the Bible, Ezekiel 34:12.

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ing representatives of Jewish unity, and fierce opponents of any who broke with Israel. “Do not separate yourself (p-r-sh) from the community” says Hillel the Elder (m. Avot 2.4) — though perhaps this is a warning aimed at the House of Shammai, whose halakhic strictures run the risk of insularity and detachment. This is not the place to discuss the historical value of the story in Avot of Rabbi Nathan, regarding the genesis of the Sadducees and the Boethusians.71 According to this legend, Antigonos of Socho had two disciples, Saddoq and Boethus, who misunderstood their master’s dictum that one should not worship God for the sake of wages or reward (Avot 1.3), thinking that it meant that resurrection is not the reward of the righteous. As a result, “they went and set themselves apart (pirshu; other versions read ‘set themselves apart from the Law’) and two divisions emerged from them — the Sad- ducees and the Boethusians.” The story undoubtedly existed prior to the redaction of Avot de Rabbi Nathan, since its kernel has been preserved in a composition from the Jewish-Christian Ebionites.72 There we find the following statement, that was undoubtedly composed in the Tannaitic era:73 “The Sadducees...began to separate themselves (lifrosh) from the people as a whole and to deny the doctrine of resurrection . . . saying that it is not right to worship God for the sake of wages or reward.”74 This is a more original source of the same idea found at the basis of the story of the formation of the Sadducees and the Boethusians in Avot de Rabbi Nathan. Moreover, both texts say that they separated themselves because they rejected the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Hatred toward the “separatists” found its way into the legal ruling in tractate Semahot (2.10): “We do not occupy ourselves with those who sepa-

71. Avot According to Rabbi Nathan, Version A, chapter 5; Version B, chapter 10; See Avot de Rabbi Natan, Solomon Schechter (ed.) (New York, 1945), 26. 72. I am referring to the Jewish-Christian source, or sources, that were the basis for the Pseudo-Clementines, a Jewish-Christian work composed in 360 c.e. or thereabout, whose hero is Clement of Rome, one of the first Christians. The Pseudo-Clementines are extant in two textual traditions. On this thorny question see G. Strecker, Das Judenchristentum in Pseudoklementinen (Berlin, 1981); H. J. Schoeps, Theologie und Geschichte des Judenchristentums (Tübingen, 1949). 73. In the Latin: “Sadducaei...segregaresecoepereapopuli coetu et mortuorum resurrectionem negare . . . dicentes non esse dignum ut quasi sub mercede proposita colatur deus.” Die Pseudoklementinen 2: Rekognitionen, B. Rehm (ed.) (Berlin, 1965), §54.2, 1.39. 74. Schoeps already noted the connection between this statement and the tradition of Avot de Rabbi Nathan (Theologie und Geschichte, 389-390). Elsewhere, I have discussed the similarity between the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions §1.54-71, and the Ebionite account of the death of James, brother of Jesus. See Flusser, Entdeckungen im Neuen Testament (Neukirchen, 1987), 187. See also Schoeps, Theologie und Geschichte, 413-417.

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rated themselves from the community in any respect.”75 There were those who took this reasoning one step further and decreed that this verse from Psalms excludes those who separate themselves from the community from the golden rule to love one’s neighbor; to the contrary, it calls for hatred: “Love everyone but hate the minim and the apostates and the informants” — followed by a discussion of Psalm 139:21-22 — “as it is written, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Lev. 19:18)....Ifheactsaccording to the norms of your people, love him, if not, do not love him.”76 This same verse is adduced by Rabbi Ishmael in the discussion of Gospels and the books of the minim.77 It would appear that the term minim refers here to a particular Christian group, of whom it is said, inter alia, that their writings “cause hatred between Israel and their heavenly father.”As for the statement that if a person “acts according to the norms of your people, love him, if not, do not love him” — it appears to be influenced by an interpretation of another verse: “‘You shall not put a curse on a chieftain among your people’ (Exod. 22:28). This refers to one who comports himself in accordance with the customs of your people, but excludes those who separate themselves from the community, e.g., Jeroboam ben Nabat,”78 while the parallels read “the norms of your people.”79 Rabbinic law follows a similar logic and employs a similar terminology in discussing Sadducee women: “The daughters of the Sadducees, if they follow after the ways of their fathers, are deemed like to the women of the Samaritans; but if they have separated themselves and follow after the ways of Israel, they are deemed like to the women of Israel.”80 We find, then, a web of interrelated terms, and our focus is on those

75. See The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, A. Cohen (trans.) (London, 1965), 1.333. See also D. Zlotnick (ed.), The Tractate ‘Mourning’ (New Haven, 1966), p. 4 of the Hebrew section, as well as the English commentary, pp. 103-104. Also relevant to our discussion is the ruling cited in Higger, The Minor Tractates, 237 (part of the non-mishnaic rulings that are not included in our version of Semahot): “Regarding those who separate from the community, and fashion themselves free of commandments, and respect for holy days, and attendance at synagogue and houses of study, and the minim and the apostates and the informants, not only do we not mourn them, but rather (upon their death) their relatives will rejoice and wear white clothing, and hold a feast, since one who hates the Lord has died.” 76. Avot de Rabbi Nathan, A, 16 (Schechter edition p. 64). 77. t. Shabbat 13.5. See Lieberman’s edition (New York, 1962), 58-59, and Lieberman’s comments in Tosephta ki-Fshuta, 3.206-208. 78. Thus in Midrash ha-Gadol ad loc., p. 528 in the Margaliyot edition. And see A. Büchler, Studies in Sin and Atonement (New York, 1967), 31 n. 1, where the statement is erroneously cited as found in the Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. 79. Or: of his people. See b. Baba Batra 4a, Sanhedrin 47a. 80. M. Niddah 4.2, and see also t. Niddah 5.2.

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who separate, one way or another, from the community, and are no longer comporting themselves according to the norms of the Jewish people. The worst of these, the ones whose behavior is opposed to that of the people, are the object of Psalm 139:21-22, that is, they are counted among the enemies of the Lord and as such worthy of hatred. No surprise, then, that the Benedic- tion against the “Separatists” (perushim) — whose main thrust is to deny any future hope for these sinners — was formulated against such individuals, who revolt against the kingdom of heaven. Those who separate themselves from the community, the minim and the apostates and the informants and the hypocrites, are damned to eternal hell.

V. The Epithet Perushim

It is clear from the above discussion that the group known as perushim (that is, Pharisees) included in their liturgy the wish that the perushim (that is, those who separate themselves from the community) have no hope, and clearly this unusual state of affairs is relevant to the origin and meaning of the epithet ‘perushim’. 81 As such, we must discuss, even if only briefly, the term

81. A recent book on the Pharisees is S. Mason, Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees (Leiden, 1991), who — in his attempt to prove that Josephus was hostile to the Pharisees — ignores, either knowingly or unknowingly, most of the relevant primary sources. See also the important study of A. I. Baumgarten, “The Name of the Pharisees,” JBL 102 (1983), 411-428, and his study “Qumran and Jewish Sectarianism in the Second Temple Period” (Hebrew), in M. Broshi, S. Talmon, S. Japhet and D. Schwartz (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Years of Research (Jeru- salem, 1992), 139-151. Schürer devotes a chapter to the Pharisees in A History of the Jewish People, 381-414, and see especially his discussion of the name ‘Pharisees,’ 396-399, including a list (397 n. 54) of Patristic statements, most of which understand perushim to mean porshim, those who separate themselves from the community. See also D. Flusser, “Pharisees, Zadokites, and Essenes,” and Sussman, “The History of Halakhah and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 38-39, and the sources cited therein. It is hard to say when exactly in the Middle Ages “rabbinic” Judaism adopted the name perushim (Pharisees), and how widely the epithet circulated. In any case, it is clear that perushim continued to refer to ascetics, even to this very day. The term famously appears in t. Sotah 15.11: “When the Second Temple was destroyed, the perushim proliferated in Is- rael and they did not eat meat or drink wine” (see E. Urbach, “The Rabbinic Doctrine of Asceti- cism and Suffering” [Hebrew], S. Etinger, S. Baron, B. Dinur and Y. Halperin [eds.], Isaac Baer Festschrift [Jerusalem, 1961], 53). The word was used in this sense later in the middle ages as well: “There are perushim who eat only a single egg (during the time of their mourning) — for instance, Rabbi Yitzhak bar Yehudah” (see A. Grossman, The Early Sages of Ashkenaz and France [Hebrew], [Jerusalem, 1981], 310). The author of Sefer Josippon, who wrote in the year 953 c.e., naturally identifies the Sages with the perushim-Pharisees, following the lead of his main source, Josephus (see D. Flusser [ed.], Sefer Josippon [Jerusalem, 1981], Vol. 2, 176-178). In chapter 30

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perushim as it applies to the Jewish sages. In truth, the epithet is inherently ambiguous: perushim can serve as a derogatory term (a poresh, one who separates himself) when employed by the opposing camp, or as praise by members of the sect.82 As Yehiel of Rome states: “A parush is one who separates himself from all forms of impurity and from improper food and from igno- ramuses who are not strict regarding dietary restrictions.”83 This positive meaning is also attested in ‘Fear of Sin’ (atj oary), one of the so-called ‘mi- nor tractates’: “The ignoramus ({am ha-}aretz) is not parush (that is, strict in distancing himself from impurities).”84 Do these sources, and other like them, indicate that the sages, who “eat their unsanctified meats in a state of purity,”coined this term to set themselves apart from the people as a whole?85 I have not found any explicit articulation of this view in the ancient sources.86 In contrast to the Essene sect at Qumran, there is no evidence of a separatist tendency among the Pharisees. Quite the contrary: their power and the secret of their success lie in their ability to identify with popular beliefs and with the practical application of the Torah according to the customs of the Jewish people as a whole. It was thanks to this that the Pharisees were able to advance and shape the course of Jewish history. In light of this, it is difficult to suppose that these people flaunted their separateness from the Jewish people, and chose to call themselves perushim in the sense of “those who separate themselves from the community.” It is far more likely, that as the Pharisaic

(lines 4-5 in my edition), the author refers to “the Jewish sages, namely the perushim (Phari- sees), who explicate (mefarshim) the Torah.” The same etymology is proposed in another source, written at roughly the same time, The Ancient Questions (She}elot {Atiqot) (on which see Josippon, 109 n. 331a). The author describes the Talmudic academy in Jerusalem as “a wholly righteous group, of those who teach Israel the explicated (mefurashah) Torah...andwordof peace to all the Jewish diaspora in the four corners of the earth, who have a single Torah to explicate” (see Sefer Josippon [Jerusalem, 1979], Vol. 1, 119, ad loc.). This work speaks of the “rabbinic” sages, in contrast to the Karaites. And, indeed, the sages were called perushim-Pharisees in contradistinction to the Karaites, who saw themselves as Sadducees (and see the comments of Harkavy in Graetz, Geschichte der Juden [Leipzig, 1895], 5.413-415). It is likely that the Karaites were the first to identify themselves with the Sadducees — and their rabbinic opponents with the Pharisees — and that the rabbis adopted this identification. Perhaps the allusions in the Tal- mud alone sufficed to maintain this process, and there is no need to assume familiarity — even indirect familiarity — with the writings of Josephus. 82. Thus Sussman, “The History of Halakhah and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 39 nn. 125-127. See also Baumgarten, “The Name of the Pharisees,” 411-412, 423-428; Schürer, A History of the Jews, 396-398. 83. Aruch Completum, 6.452. 84. Higger, Minor Tractates, 77 and 85. 85. A suggestion made by Schürer, A History of the Jewish People, 399 n. 61. 86. As Baumgarten rightly notes, “The Name of the Pharisees,” 412.

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movement crystallized, its conservative opponents saw it as a threat to the unity of Israel, as a group that separated itself from the community, as ‘perushim.’ This epithet undoubtedly offended the Pharisees, and while there were sporadic attempts to re-semantize the term — proposing a positive sense, especially in the area of purity — they generally rejected the term. In- deed, they continued to use perushim in reference to those who separated themselves from the community, a custom that was even fixed in their liturgy. It is clear, then, why the derogatory term perushim is attested more frequently in the words of the Pharisees’ opponents. This is, in any case, the conclusion to be drawn from the story of Alexander Jannaeus, a story preserved in b. Qiddushim 66a, based on an ancient written source. The story tells of a dispute between the king and the Pharisees. At the outset of the dispute, an opponent of the sages addresses the king, saying: “The hearts of the Pharisees are against you.”As a result of the dispute, “all the sages of Israel were massa- cred, and the world was desolate until Shimon ben Shetah came and restored the Torah to its pristine glory.” Here (and in the beginning of the story), the Pharisees are specifically referred to as “all the sages of Israel.” Another aggadic source tells of Shimon ben Shetah, and how he restored the Torah to its former glory:87 “The Sadducees were seated at the Sanhedrin, and King Jannaeus and Queen Salome were seated there, and not one of Israel was seated with them, except for Shimon ben Shetah.” When none of the Saddu- cee members of the Sanhedrin was able to provide a scriptural proof for a particular decision, Shimon ben Shetah caused “all of them to depart, and so a Sanhedrin of Israel was established. The day that the Sadducee Sanhedrin was disbanded and a Sanhedrin of Israel was established was declared a holiday.”If the previous story referred to the Pharisee sages as “the sages of Israel,” here they are simply referred to as “Israel” simpliciter! The sages are also re- ferredtoasperushim in m. Yadayim 4.6-8 by their opponents. In mishnahs 4 and 7 the Sadducees say: “We cry out against you, O Pharisees...”while a Galilean heretic similarly states, “I cry out against you, O Pharisees....”88 Thus we see that the epithet perushim generally carried a bitter taste in their own mouths, due to its negative content. It is especially worth noting that rabbinic literature never identifies even one of the sages as a perushi- Pharisee, while Greek sources do designate certain Jews this way. The most prominent of these are the Jewish men who attest — in Greek — to their

87. The story appears as part of the Hebrew explication of the Aramaic phrase found in Tractate Ta{anit: anyd le aoqnc obyoy obtl aynmow vyrqeb. See H. Lichtenstein’s critical edition, “Die Fastenrolle,” HUCA 8-9 (1931-32), 342-343, and see also 298. 88. As a result of the polemic context, in mishnayot 7 and 8 the response of the sages is prefaced by the phrase: “The Pharisees say.”

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Pharisaism, namely Paul (Philippians 3:5, and see Acts 23:6), and Josephus (Vita §10). The New Testament also refers to the following figures as Phari- sees: Nicodemus, who is probably identical with the famous Naqdimon ben Gurion (John 3:1), and Rabban Gamaliel the Elder (Acts 5:34). Josephus characterizes the latter’s son, Shimon ben Gamaliel (Vita §191), as well as Samaias and Pollion, two prominent Pharisees who lived under Herod (AJ 15.4, 370), and are undoubtedly to be identified with Shammai and Hillel. In addition, Josephus names three Pharisees who were sent from Jerusalem to the Galilee during the war (Vita §197). Incidentally, these Greek sources prove that the scholars were right to suggest that the Patriarchate and the remaining sages of the Second Temple and post-70 were Pharisees. The Greek sources did not hesitate to designate the “rabbinic” sages as Pharisees — in contrast to the silence of the Talmudic sources — because the resistance to the epithet perushim was weaker, or perhaps non-existent, outside of the circle of the sages themselves. Presumably, the Hebrew and Aramaic-speaking Jews of Palestine, those who were not counted among the enemies of the Pharisees, also came to see ‘Pharisees,’ perushim, as a neutral term, with no negative connotation. In any case, the sages were referred to as ‘Pharisees’ by the surrounding environment, and they did not like it. In the meantime — at some point no later than the reign of Alexander Jannaeus — the Pharisees won the trust of the vast majority of the Jewish people, and came to serve as its leaders.89 The rival Essenes saw the great influence of the Pharisees as a calamity.90 They interpret the worship of the Canaanite god Ba}al during the reign of Hosea (2:10) as referring to the complete dependence of the masses on the Pharisees: “But they listened to those who misdirected them and they acclaimed them, and feared them in their blindness like god.”91 Under these circumstances it would be ridiculous to rebuke the Pharisees as having separated themselves from the people as a whole, but the negative connotation of perushim still lingered, only now di- rected in new channels: in various circles there circulated the view that the Pharisees were hypocrites, and this accusation was voiced against the Phari- sees by Sadducees and Essenes alike; Jesus too accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy, and there is self-criticism along these lines from the Pharisees themselves. It is of course no coincidence that the Pharisees — or part of them —

89. See Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, 402-403. See also Mason, Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees, 372-373, who cites the relevant Josephus sources on this matter. See also Mark 7:3. 90. See Flusser, “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.” 91. See 4QpHosa 2.2-6, and Maurya P. Horgan, Pesharim (Washington, D.C., 1979), 141, and the Hebrew volume, 38-39.

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appeared to such a varied group of people as hypocrites who pretend to be righteous.92 It is not our role to examine the underlying reality of this accusation against the Pharisee character, which was interpreted by many as hypocrisy. It may be that the problematic tendency among the Pharisees — and which was generalized by their opponents as characteristic of the group as a whole — has its roots in the positive role of the sages. Not only did they take it upon themselves to live according to the Halakhah, down to its smallest details, but they even managed, for a time, to cast the yoke of Halakhah on the people as a whole. Over time, arrangements such as these inevitably lead to tension between the strict demands of the party faithful and their own limited capacity to live according to these demands. There are some among them who appear to make demands but not meet them (see Matt. 23:3) or, in other words, who appear as hypocrites.93 This social dynamic was evident among the Pharisees themselves, and explains the hypocrisy within their ranks. Such negative phenomena presumably disappeared from the world of the Jewish sages after the destruction of the Temple, that is, when there was no longer any possibility to challenge “rabbinic” Judaism, or its dominion over the Jew- ish people.94 Let us deal briefly with the image of the Pharisees as hypocrites. The phrase originates in the words of Alexander Jannaeus, the Sadducee king, to his wife: “fear not the Pharisees . . . but the hypocrites who ape the Pharisees; because their deeds are the deeds of Zimri but they expect a reward like Pinhas” (b. Sotah 22b).95 The meaning of ‘hypocrites’ may be inferred from the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:27-28: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.” A similar image appears in the Damascus Document (8.12, and

92. See the sources cited by H. L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testa- ment (München, 1928), 4.336-339; G. F. Moore, Judaism in the First Century of the Christian Era (New York, 1971), 192-194; M. Weinfeld, “The Charge of Hypocrisy in Matthew and in Jewish Sources,” Immanuel 24-25 (1990), 52-58. 93. A brief survey of the entries ‘Pharisee’ (768) and ‘puritan’ (837) in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford, 1983) may help illuminate the issue: “Pharisee: held to have preten- sion to superior sanctity; self-righteous person, formalist; hypocrite.” “Puritan: . . . purist, member of any non-religious party; person practicing or affecting extreme strictness in religion or morals.” 94. The Church Fathers do not accuse the rabbis of hypocrisy. There is a passage in the Didache (8.1-2) that is based on Matthew 6:16 and 6:5. 95. Following Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews (13.401-404), Jannaeus most likely spoke these words to his wife prior to his death, urging her to make peace with the Pharisees, his enemies.

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in a parallel passage at 19.25), where the Essenes call the Pharisees “the builders ofthewall...those who daub with whitewash” — a clear allusion to Ezekiel 13:10. I have shown elsewhere, that the Qumranites viewed the entire Pharisee community in a negative light,96 as a movement whose hypocrisy finds expression in its fallacious teachings as well: they are “those who misdirect Ephraim, who with their fraudulent teaching and lying tongue and perfidious lip misdirect many; kings, princes, priests and people together with the proselyte attached to them. Cities and clans will perish through their advice, nobles and leaders will fall due to the ferocity of their tongues” (4QpNah 2.8-10). A more moderate approach is adopted by the Sadducee king, at least according to b. Sotah 22b, where Alexander Jannaeus speaks of those “whose deeds are the deeds of Zimri but they expect a reward like Pinhas.”That is, he is referring to individuals who are only apparent — not true — Pharisees. Jesus’ statement offers still another approach, as he describes the Pharisees as hypocrites, but at the same time admits that they sit on the throne of Moses. He accepts their teachings as binding, but claims that their actions do not match their teachings.97 Jesus’ description of the Pharisees raises the question, How could he have identified with their teachings, in light of his sharp polemic against them? This apparent paradox is probably best explained if we assume that Jesus was, like Honi the Circle Drawer, a righteous charismatic who belonged to the world of the sages but did not identify with their “establishment.”98 Jesus levels the following accusation, inter alia, against the Pharisees: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of oth-

96. Flusser, “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes,” in the present volume. 97. As noted, Jannaeus too is critical of the actions of those who appear to be Pharisees. A similar critique of the Pharisees is voiced in the Hodayot: “They speak to your people with stut- tering lip and weird tongue to convert to folly all their deeds with deceit” (1QHa 12.16-17, and see also line 8). 98. On the righteous, the Hasidim, see S. Safrai, “The Teachings of the Hasidim in Tannaitic Literature” (Hebrew), Y. Amorai Memorial Volume (Tel Aviv, 1973), 147; idem, “Hasidim and Men of Deeds” (Hebrew), Zion 50 (1985), 149-151; idem, “The Jewish Cultural Nature of the Galilee in the First Century,” Immanuel 24-25 (1990), 180-181. It would appear that one of the logia in Jesus’ polemic against the Pharisees was spoken under the influence of the Qumran polemic against them. This logion has reached us in two forms: Matthew 23:13, and Luke 11:52, where it is not aimed at the Pharisees and the scribes but rather against the “lawyers,”that is, the masters of halakhah. Luke’s statement — “you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering” — is the more original. This is the only time that the Gospels attribute the word “knowledge” to Jesus, while it is a very central term in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In addition, there is a fascinating parallel to Jesus’ logion in the Essene polemic against the Pharisees: “they have denied the drink of knowledge to the thirsty, but for their thirst they have given them vinegar to drink” (1QHa 12.11). The parallel in Matt. 23:13 substitutes “Kingdom of Heaven” — a phrase dear to Matthew — for “knowledge.”

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ers; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them”(Matt. 23:4). There is an important parallel to Jesus’ statement in the list of “seven perushim,”99 five of which are negative and the last two — “the parush characterized by fear and the parush characterized by love”— are positive, and the one who worships God out of love is preferred to one who worships out of fear.100 The first five types of Pharisees are characterized as different forms of hypocrisy. The first is “the shoulder parush,” a term that is glossed as “loads the commandments (aowwem)101 on the shoulder.” The parallel in Matthew 23:4 suggests that this phrase refers to a Pharisee who loads the commandments on the shoulders of others — an instance in which Jesus’ teachings provide a novel insight into the Talmudic statement. As noted, the first five types of perushim, separatists, are described as various types of religious hypocrisy, and it stands to reason that the list originally included seven similar types of negative religious behavior, but was later changed to include two positive types.102 Jesus may have known the list in its earlier form, since his critique of the Pharisees contains seven instances of “Woe!” (Matt. 23:13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29). In any case, there is an undeniable affinity — conceptual and substantive alike — between Jesus’ discussion of the Pharisees and the list of “seven perushim” in the Palestinian Talmud. The main difference appears to be that the Talmud is voicing an internal critique that sages level against themselves, while Jesus is an outsider, who respects the Pharisees but is also critical of them. For the present discussion it should be remembered that pre-70 there were many who claimed that the Phar- isees are hypocrites. Indeed, this claim circulated so widely, that the sages themselves adopted the name ‘Pharisees’ for the hypocrites among them.

VI. The Separatism of the Essenes

The history of the term perushim, ‘Pharisees,’ provides an interesting example of the tangled ways of an ideology. We already noted that the term is

99. P. Berakhot 9, 13b, and Sotah 5, 20c. A different version appears in b. Sotah 22b. 100. See my article “A New Sensitivity in Judaism and the Christian Message,” Judaism and Christian Origins, 472-475; Y. Amir, “Philo’s Homilies on Fear and Love, and Their Relation to Palestinian Midrash” (Hebrew), Zion 30 (1965), 47-60. 101. This is the reading in a number of manuscripts, as well as Yalkut Makhiri to Psalm 109, Buber edition (Berditchev, 1900), 180-181. 102. It is possible that “the parush characterized by fear” was part of the original list, since the phrase certainly lends itself to a negative interpretation. If so, only “the parush characterized by love” is a new addition to the list, appended as part of the debate whether one should worship God out of love or fear.

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ambiguous: it can serve as a pejorative designation of those who have separated themselves from the community, but can also be used by a separatist group to mark their laudable decision to divorce themselves from the Jew- ish people as a whole, who are doomed to perish. The sages employ the pejorative sense in the benediction against the perushim. Over time, as the vast majority of the Jewish people came to accept the authority of the Phar- isees, this name no longer suited them, and the sages generally avoided it when referring to themselves. Moreover, during the same time the word took on a new pejorative meaning — no longer a reference to separatism, it became a marker of religious hypocrisy. Thus was the pejorative sense of perushim transformed. We will see in a moment that the Qumran community had no compunctions about applying the root ‘parush’ to separate themselves, in a decidedly positive meaning.103 Indeed, I will argue that the separatist sense of perushim originates in the Qumran community. Finally, we will revisit the hypothesis that Birkat ha-Minim was at one point aimed at the Essenes.104 It is an established fact that Qumran considered their separation from the community of sinners known as Israel to be a guiding principle, one rooted in their dualistic ideology and institutionalized in their separatist organization that was closed to all on the outside.105 A clear testament to this separatism is found in the following passage from one of the scrolls, which reads:106

14. Midrash of “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1). The interpretation of this word: they are those who turn aside from the path of the wicked 15. as it is written in the book of Isaiah, the prophet, for the last days: “the Lord spoke to me while his hand was strong upon me, and removed me from the path of 16. this people” (Isa. 8:11). And (this refers to) those about whom it is written in the book of Ezekiel, the prophet, that “they should not defile themselves any more with all

103. See Sussman, “The History of Halakha and the Dead Sea Scrolls.” 104. See my article, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 269-273. 105. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume; J. Licht, “Eternal Deceit and the Nation of God’s Redemption,”in Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Hebrew), (Jerusalem, 1961), 49-75. 106. 4Q174 (Florilegium) 1.14-17. On the reconstruction of this passage see J. Strugnell, “Notes en marge du volume V de ‘Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan’,” RQ 7 (1970), 221-222.

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17. their idols” (Ezek. 44:10). This refers to the sons of Zadok and to the men of their council, those who seek justice eagerly, who have come after them to the council of the community.

The Qumran community thought that in divorcing themselves from the Jewish people they were abiding by the instruction of the opening of the Psalms: “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread.” In other words, they consider the rest of Israel to be wicked and sinful. In this passage, only the first hemistich is quoted explicitly, but the second is also relevant: the Qumran author identifies the Psalm- ist’s “path that sinners tread” with “the path of this people” in Isaiah 8:11, the path from which they have divorced themselves, as per God’s will. The separatism is justified by Ezekiel 37:23: they have separated themselves from the path of the people lest they “defile themselves . . . with their idols.” We see, then, that Essene separatism consists of two aspects, both of which appear in this passage. The first is religious and theological and consists of the Essene dualism that dictates that they steer clear of the path of the sons of darkness. The second is halakhic and ritual: the Essenes of Qumran considered the rest of Israel to be impure, and thus were required to set themselves apart lest they be contaminated by their idols. The temple too they considered impure: “They send votive offerings to the temple, but perform their sacrifices employing a different ritual of purification. For this reason they are barred from those precincts of the temple that are frequented by all the people and perform their rites by themselves” (Josephus, AJ 18.19).107 I will have more to say about the halakhic justification in what follows. The words of Isaiah — “while his hand was strong upon me [the Lord] removed me from the path108 of this people” (8:11) — played a particularly important role in the Essene separatism set forth in the passage at hand. To be sure, the MT reads y5n¿rS5y‹w, that is, ‘he warned me,’but the reading ynrysyw,‘he removed me,’ is reflected in a number of ancient translations,109 and is the reading attested in the complete Isaiah scroll discovered at Qumran (the rele-

107. See my article “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume. 108. The word ‘way’ (Frd) appears in Psalm 1:1 and Isaiah 8:11, as well as Isaiah 40:3 (“in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord...”)—astatement the Qumran community (along with John the Baptist) understood as a divine commandment (1QS 8.13-16, and 9.20). According to 1QS 8, the ‘way’ in Isaiah refers to “the study of the law” (hrwoh qrdm)”.A number of scholars have discussed the dualistic aspect of the term ‘way,’ and see D. Flusser, “Which Is the Right Way That a Man Should Choose for Himself?” Tarbiz 60 (1990), 163-178. 109. See the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 687; Strugnell, “Notes en marge,” 221; M. Goshen-Gottstein (ed.), Isaiah (Jerusalem, 1975), 2.31.

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vant chapters are not extant in the other Isaiah scroll). We see, then, that the Qumran community considered this verse — in its non-Masoretic form — as a biblical justification for their break with the Jewish people as a whole. The community defined itself as “the sons of Zadok, the priests, and the men of their covenant who have turned away from the path of the nation” (1Q28a [=1QRule of the Congregation] 1.2-3)110 or as “the congregation of all the sons of justice, those who establish the covenant, those who avoid walking on the path of the people” (11Q13 [=11QMelchizedek] 2.24).111 At the same time, they accused their opponents that “they have rebelled with insolence, walking on the path of the wicked ones” (CD 19.21, and the parallel at 8.8-9; see also CD 19.17 and the parallel at 8.4-5). We will return to this passage later in our discussion. In an earlier article,112 I argued roughly thus: the Essenes used Isaiah 8:11 to justify their separation from the people, and defined themselves as having removed themselves “from the path of this people” or, more succinctly, those who strayed from the path of the people. If we translate the biblical phrase into contemporary language, we would say that the Essenes are those who separated themselves from the way of the people. The similarity between this phrase and “those who separate themselves from the path of the people” — who stand in opposition to “them according to the norms of your people” — is striking. These phrases, then, are rooted in a sectarian interpretation of Isaiah, that originates among the Essenes, and perhaps among other sectarian groups, for whom removal “from the path of this people” is a statement of praise. For those who reject the separatist impetus, on the other hand, “those who separate themselves from the path of the people” and later “those who separate themselves from the path of the community (rwbye)” are understood as sharply pejorative. The individuals characterized in these statements can be referred to in a single term: perushim, ‘separatists,’ and this is the term that was eventually included in the benediction against the separatists, the minim, the apostates and the informants. In a fascinating development, this term was incorporated into the benediction by the group that was itself called by its opponents perushim, Pharisees! These suppositions have been largely substantiated by the publication of 4QMMT113 (4QMMTd Column C 6-8), where we find: “[And you know

110. See J. Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim (Jerusalem, 1965), 252. 111. See Kobelski, Melchizedek, 6; E. Puech, “Notes sur le manuscript de XIQ Melkisedeq,” RQ 12 (1987), 483-513. 112. See Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 271. 113. See Sussman, “The History of Halakha and the Dead Sea Scrolls,”esp. 38-39. I want to thank E. Qimron, who provided me with a personal copy of 4QMMT prior to its publication.

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that] we have separated ourselves from the majority114 of the people and [from their impurity115] and from mingling in these affairs and from associating with them in these things.” The passage in question, like the composition as a whole, survived only in fragmentary form, so it is not possible to determine the precise reasons cited as to why the sect separated itself from the people as a whole.116 This much is clear: the author of 4QMMT does not mention an ideological impetus for breaking with Israel, but rather refers to halakhic differences that brought about the rift. In discussing these differences the scroll lists primarily issues of ritual purity, of temple service, and of priesthood, with purity playing a central role in the latter two categories as well — at least in the parts of 4QMMT that survived. In this respect, 4QMMT is similar to the material cited above,117 although there we found an ideological justification for separating from the people, alongside the ritual. The Qumran community removed itself from the path of the people not only so as not to “take the path that sinners tread” but also so that they not defile themselves with their idols. Be that as it may, the phrase “separated ourselves from the majority of the people” indicates that the Qumran authors employed the root p-r-sh to cast their separatism in a positive light — the polar opposite of the use in the benediction of those termed perushim, ‘Pharisees,’ the sages themselves. Also relevant is the striking similarity between the boastful statement of the sect — based on Isaiah 8:11 — that they separated themselves from the path of the people, and the sages’ position that “those who separate themselves from the path of the people” will not be forgiven by God. May we conclude, then, that at some point the sages identified the perushim of the benediction with the separatist Dead Sea community? I suggested this possibility already,118 and the phrase “we have separated ourselves from the majority of the people” appears to support it.

114. Hebrew: bwr. On this term in the Qumran scrolls see Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 111-112. 115. Sussman (“The History of Halakha and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 38) offers a different reconstruction. 116. The previous halakhic matter states: “And further it is written in the book of Moses: you shall not bring an abomination into your house for abomination is an odious thing” — citing Deuteronomy 7:26. Still, we cannot know the author’s precise intent in adducing this verse, nor the nature of the ‘abomination.’ 117. See above, n. 106. 118. See Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 271-273.

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VII. Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees in the Amidah

In order to better understand the logic behind the hypothesis that Birkat ha- Minim was once aimed against the Essenes, we need to trace the original meaning of two of the benedictions in the Amidah: the one that precedes Birkat ha-Minim, and the one that follows it. The benediction preceding Birkat ha-Minim is brief,119 and, according to Rav Saadia Gaon,120 consists of the following: “Return our judges as before and our advisors as in earlier days” (based on Isaiah 1:26). The Palestinian liturgy merely appends the words “and rule over us, You alone.”Now, the short benediction “Instruct us” (wnnybh), reads: “And regarding those who err in your way, may they judge according to your knowledge.”121 Even if “Instruct us” is not a reflex of an earlier version of the benediction, it clearly represents an early understanding of the benediction. Historically speaking, “those who err in your way” — of whom it is hoped that in the future they will “judge according to your knowledge” — can only be the Sadducees,122 who refuse to follow the Oral Torah in rendering judgment. It stands to reason that this is the thrust of “Restore our judges,” which precedes Birkat ha-Minim. Clearly, a petitionary prayer for judgments to once again be rendered according to the Oral Torah lacks the vitriolic hostility toward the sages’ opponents so evident in Birkat ha-Minim. The benediction following Birkat ha-Minim, “The Benediction of the Righteous,” will be cited in its Palestinian form:123 “May your mercies stir for

119. See the discussion in Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 45. I wish to thank my friend S. Safrai for interpreting this benediction. 120. Siddur Rav Saadia Gaon (Jerusalem, 1963), 18. 121. The standard prayer books read “let them be judged” (wt•pÌqy) rather than “judge” (wtwpqy); however, the latter reading is attested in a number of manuscripts of b. Berakhot 29a, where “Instruct us” appears, among them the Munich Manuscript, Rashi’s interpretation ad loc., Halakhot Gedolot (Venice) 2a, and the manuscript of Halakhot Gedolot published by A. Hildsheimer (Jerusalem, 1972), 26. That “judge” is the more original reading is evident from the opening of the benediction: “Restore our judges ...” 122. There is another benediction in which ‘those who err’ (fyewo) refers to the Saddu- cees, namely the full version of the benediction recited after the reading of the Torah, a version today found only in the qedusha de-sidra: “Blessed are You our God who created us for His glory, and separated us from those who err and gave us the Torah of truth, and planted eternal life in our midst.” This benediction announces the two main pillars of the sages’ theology that are rejected by the Sadducees: the Torah (as understood by the Pharisees) and the belief in eternal life, i.e., in the resurrection of the dead. Those who err, then, are clearly the Sadducees. See D. Flusser, “He Has Planted Eternal Life in Our Midst,” Tarbiz 58 (1989), 149. 123. See Mann, “Genizah Fragments of the Palestinian Order of Service,” 206. Another version is cited by Schechter and by Assaf: “May Your mercies stir for the righteous converts and give us good reward with those who perform Your will. Blessed are you Lord, a safe harbor for

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your righteous and your holy, and for the converts who put their trust in You. Give us and give them a good reward with those who do your will in the Land of Israel, a support and safe haven for the righteous.” The advantage of this version is that its first half, that refers to the righteous and the holy, stands as an independent unit, unrelated to the second, which deals with converts — very much in keeping with t. Berakhot 3.25. Nonetheless, this is clearly an abbreviated version, since it lacks the elders, who are mentioned explicitly in the Tosefta, and the scribes, who are mentioned in both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic liturgical traditions. The Ashkenazic liturgy employs the phrase “the remnant of their scribes,”which appears already in Megillat Ta}anit: “On the seventeenth (of Adar) the nations rose against the remnant of the scribes in the land of Chalcis in the house of Zabdi, and there was salvation,”124 an event that occurred in the time of Alexander Jannaeus. The benediction of the righteous, then, makes mention of the institutions, or better, the groups, that make up the separatist group vis-à-vis the sages. All this suggests that “Restore Our Judges,” which precedes Birkat ha- Minim, was aimed against the erroneous legal teachings of the Sadducees, while the Benediction of the Righteous, which follows Birkat ha-Minim, sought to elevate the status of the Pharisees. As for the middle benediction, Birkat ha-Minim itself, we have already seen that it attacks a wide range of separatists. The material adduced suggests that it was once aimed against the Essenes, among others. The fact that three consecutive benedictions apparently refer to the three central groups within Second Temple Judaism — the Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees — is significant far beyond the purview of our present study. For it now becomes clear that, contrary to the view of some scholars, the tripartite division into schools employed time and again by Josephus in describing the Jewish world of his day, is not an artificial system imposed, as it were, to imbue Judaism with an added dimension of Greek spirituality. Indeed, this scholarly position was already refuted by the publication of Pesher Nahum from Qumran,125 which demonstrated that the Essenes too identified the same three groups: Essenes, Pharisees, and Saddu- cees. The discovery of the Qumran documents has demonstrated, then, that

the righteous.” This is curious, since it deals only with converts and it is hard to believe that we have here a version of the benediction of the converts prior to its assimilation with the benediction of the elders. For one thing, the Genizah version of the benediction of the elders does not contain this benediction. On the benediction of the elders, see Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 45-46; Louis Ginzberg, Commentary and Novellae to the Yerushalmi, 337-338. 124. See Lichtenstein, “Die Fastenrolle,”322, 347-348. Ginzberg already noted the connection between the benediction of the elders and Ta}anit. 125. See my discussion, in “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum.”

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the division is not the result of Josephus’ speculations, but rather anchored in the social reality of the day. If so, we may assume that the sages too understood the Jewish world to be divided into these three groups, and that their response to each found expression in the three benedictions of the Amidah. And if the tripartite division of Israel was self-evident, we must assume that the three benedictions — that on this reading reflect this division — were incorporated into the Amidah at the same time. I believe we are dealing with the late Hasmonean period, assuming, of course, that “Restore Our Judges” expresses the hope that the Sadducees repent the error of their ways. Another indication that the three benedictions were incorporated into the liturgy at the same time — and, indirectly, that they refer to the three Sec- ond Temple “schools” — is their location within the Amidah. They are found between the benedictions whose conclusions are “Who Gathers the Dispersed of His People Israel” and “Builder of Jerusalem,” respectively. Not coinciden- tally, these two conclusions — in reverse order — constitute a verse from Psalms (147:2): “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Is- rael.”If we remove the three benedictions, the gap between the two parts of the verse disappears. I have argued elsewhere126 that the hope for the building of Jerusalem and for the ingathering of exiles becomes central to the Jewish world with the destruction of the First Temple, when Jerusalem is razed and the people are exiled, the majority not to return even until today. As it became less probable that both hopes will be realized in the present age, there grew the sentiment — already in the Persian period — that Jerusalem will be restored to its former glory and the exiles gathered in Israel, only in the End of Days. It should be noted that the yearning for a personal messiah (or messiahs) tended to grow stronger only later in the Second Temple period. There is no trace of this view in a number of eschatological texts written during this period. No wonder, then, that the Amidah once prayed for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the ingathering of exiles without mentioning the messiah. However, as the belief in the messiah’s advent grew stronger, references to his person became frequent in Jewish liturgy,127 including the Amidah—apro-

126. In “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 264-294. 127. The core Jewish liturgy does not mention the word ‘messiah’ in reference to a future redeemer, a fact that is not sufficiently recognized. See D. Flusser, “The Reflection of Jewish Messianic Beliefs in Early Christianity” (Hebrew), in Z. Baras (ed.), Messianism and Eschatology (Jerusalem, 1983), 113-114, and especially n. 25. Another relevant source is the Palestinian version of “May It Arise and Come” (awbyw hley) cited in Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy and Liturgical Custom in the Genizah, 96. Interestingly, Fleischer (ibid, 245) also cites a Palestinian manuscript that contains a version of the Kaddish that includes the following addition: “May He cause His redemption to grow and bring near His messiah” (hyjyqm brkyw hynkrwp jmxy).

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cess whose genesis is already evident in Tannaitic times. This tendency finds expression in one of two ways: either the figure of the messiah is incorporated into the benediction itself, and it concludes with the words “the God of Da- vid, builder of Jerusalem,” or, a new benediction is added after the Benedic- tion for Jerusalem, i.e., the one that opens “the shoot of David” (dwd jmx). As the Tosefta says (t. Berakhot 3.25): “One may include...thebenediction of David in that of Jerusalem. And if one said each as a blessing unto itself, he has fulfilled his legal obligation.”128 In considering the benedictions that come before and after the three “political” benedictions — i.e., the benediction of the ingathering of exiles and of Jerusalem — it should be emphasized that these are the only two benedictions in the Amidah that openly express Israel’s hope for the End of Days. The other Amidah benedictions are bereft of eschatological significance, even though the yearning for redemption caused eschatological elements to be incorporated into other benedictions as well — though this was a complex and variegated process that lies beyond the purview of the present analysis. One such change, that occurred at a relatively early stage, is evident in the second benediction, the Benediction of Mighty Deeds, or gevurot.129 It appears that God was at one time referred to as “master of mighty deeds” (owrwbg leb),

128. On “The Shoot of David” benediction see Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 35, and my own discussion in Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 149, in the appendix; see also my article, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 268-269; J. Heinemann, Prayer in the Tannaitic and Amoraic Period (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1964), 48-51. Tosefta Berakhot 3.25 already indicates that Palestinian liturgy employed both methods: the conclusion of the Benediction for Jerusalem with “God of David builder of Jerusalem,” or adherence to the original benediction (without mention of David) and the addition of the so-called Benediction for David. Over time, the former became customary in Palestinian circles, while the latter in Babylonia and, from there, to Jewish communities throughout. A few comments are in order: Tractate Soferim 13.12 brings as the third section of the benedictions following the haftarah, the conclusion “Who raises a horn of salvation for his people, Israel” — a Palestinian tradition. Now, a hymn found in Luke opens: “He has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David” (Lk 1:69). Luke’s hymn does not of course prove that “The Shoot of David” served as an independent benediction at the time, but it does indicate that already in the first century there were poetic dicta that would find their way into the Benediction for David. The conclusions to the Palestinian Bene- dictions for the Psalms are of particular significance for the matter at hand, particularly those cited in Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy and Liturgical Custom in the Genizah, 181, 190, 191, 203. To cite one example (p. 190): “Blessed are You Lord, God of David, who raises a horn of salvation for his people Israel and consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem, amen.”The admixture of different formulas in the Benediction for Jerusalem is striking, proving once again the relative flexibility of the language of Jewish liturgy. 129. See Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 39-40, and my article “Jerusalem in Second Temple Lit- erature,” 273.

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while the resurrection of the dead was understood as saving one from a terrible disease or danger. Apparently, the mention of the resurrection in the benediction generated a new conclusion in which God is explicitly called “who resurrects the dead” in an eschatological sense — part of the Pharisee polemic against the Sadducees, who rejected the doctrine of resurrections. As for the Benediction of Redemption (hlwagh ocrb), its location indicates that it refers to a petition for aid in the case of personal distress, rather than for future redemption.130 Indeed, the version we possess today contains only one word, “redeem us quickly”(hrhm), with any eschatological meaning.131 Again we see that only the benedictions for ingathering of exiles and for the building of Jerusalem were eschatological (excluding “the Shoot of David,” which was added at some later point). Shmuel Safrai’s article on “Gathering in the Synagogues on Festivals, Sabbaths and Weekdays” makes a substantive contribution to our understanding of the history of the Amidah. Safrai shows that synagogues served as places of gathering only on the Sabbath and holidays. On these occasions, the congregation prayed the Amidah with seven benedictions (as is customary to this day), i.e., the first three benedictions, the last three benedictions, and, in the middle, the benediction of the day. During all other times, only the twelve standard benedictions were prayed in the customary fashion, that is, in soli- tary prayer.132 After the destruction of the temple, in the generation of Yavne, daily prayer in congregations was instituted, and it was then that the eighteen benedictions were fixed as the weekday Amidah — the six benedictions of the Sabbath and holidays, together with the twelve weekday benedictions. Safrai believes — rightly, to my mind — that pre-70 the weekday Amidah contained the benediction that opens “You grant mankind knowledge” (oed fdal vnwj hoa), through the conclusion “Blessed are You Lord, who hears prayer.” I think Safrai’s approach is correct, and that powerful new arguments may be adduced in its favor. For example, it is undoubtedly true that the number of benedictions — seven and twelve — has its own internal logic, and that it

130. See Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 30. 131. The word is absent in the Palestinian version cited by Schechter, but does appear in other Palestinian versions of the Amidah (see Mann, “Genizah Fragments of the Palestinian Or- der of Service,” 305). 132. The testimony of Jesus (Matt. 6:5-6) is critical, and the verses ought to be examined in their entirety. Jesus warns his audience that they not stand at street corners when they pray, lest people see them; it is better for one to pray in the privacy of his room. Jesus is referring to the daily prayer, as he himself attended synagogues on the Sabbath (see Safrai, “Gathering in the Synagogues,”nn. 6-9). It appears that the mention of synagogues in Matthew 6:5 is the author’s addition, as the gospel was composed after the destruction of the temple.

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stands to reason that the list of weekday benedictions once ended with the request that God hear one’s prayers. A fascinating parallel is found in Hodayot 19.27-34,133 that includes three paragraphs, and opens: “Blessed are you Lord [or: God]”; the next benediction contains, inter alia, thanks to God for having “given your servant the insight of knowledge to understand your wonders” and hope for God’s grace and forgiveness; the content of the third and final benediction parallels that of “Who hears prayer.” Safrai’s discovery is important to understanding the place of Birkat ha- Minim within the Amidah. If we accept his assumptions, during the Second Temple period, the weekday Amidah was a petitionary prayer consisting of requests that God grant one knowledge, cause him to repent, forgive him his sins, and save him from calamities. In addition, there were benedictions for God to cure ills and bless the year. Finally, there came a cluster of five benedictions concerning the Jewish people as a whole, the first and last of which express core eschatological hopes: that the exiles be gathered, and that Jerusa- lem be rebuilt. It is not surprising that the two petitions for Israel’s eschatological redemption are located after a series of personal requests, and that the requests conclude with the hope that God hear the prayers just spoken. It is also clear that the only natural place to situate the three “political” benedictions is between the two benedictions that refer to the Jewish people as a whole. Thus it happened that these three benedictions — that I believe refer to the three main “schools”: Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees — are found between the benediction for the ingathering of exiles and for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Since the discovery that Birkat ha-Minim was not established in Yavne in order to exclude the Christians from the Jewish people, scholarship on the topic has made significant strides. However, this progress has raised a series of unforeseen challenges. The attempt to overcome them has been fruitful, but as with other scholarly issues, there remain a number of open questions concerning Birkat ha-Minim, even as others have been satisfactorily answered. Thus, we have a better understanding of b. Megillah 17b: “Shimon ha-Pakuli arranged the eighteen benedictions in order before Rabban Gamaliel at Yavne.”134 In light of the above analysis, this may refer to the arrangement of the weekday Amidah so as to combine the twelve benedictions that were customary at that time with the six benedictions of the Sabbath and holiday lit-

133. See Safrai, “Gathering in the Synagogues,”15, n. 54, who cites Hodayot 14.8; 7.6; 19.14 as parallels for the benediction “You grant mankind knowledge.” It is unfortunate that the last lines of column 11 of the Hodayot have been lost. 134. See also Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 24-26.

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urgy — three prior and three subsequent — since it was then that daily congregational prayer was established.135 It may be surmised that the Yavne leaders did not stop here, but rather established certain instructions regarding the language and the internal structure of the eighteen benedictions. Thus the question: what did Shmuel the Small contribute to the language and structure of Birkat ha-Minim? After all, the benediction appears to predate him by many years! Earlier we proposed the hypothesis that it was here joined with the benediction “Restore our Judges,” which precedes it, and “On the Righteous,”which follows it. In light of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the words of the sages themselves, we further suggested that at the time it was aimed against the Essenes, though clearly its scope was not limited to the Essenes, as the later, secondary use was aimed against the Christians. Saul Lieberman has already established the early provenance of the blessing.136 He writes: “The benediction against the separatists existed a long time prior to Shmuel the Small, however he was the first who established it as a prayer aimed specifically against the minim, as they had begun to pose a threat to the people.” It is not easy to accept the view that the explicit mention of the minim was instituted only at Yavne. At the outset of the present discussion we cited the ancient tradition that has been preserved at the end of chapter three of Se- der {Olam, according to which “those who separate themselves from the path of the community, for example the minim, theinformers,thehypocrites... will be locked in hell and they will be judged in it for all eternity, forevermore.” We further saw that this tradition is reflected in additional sources, and that this was undoubtedly the original kernel of Birkat ha-Minim. We have already noted that those who separate themselves from the paths of the community, the group cited first in the list in Seder {Olam, are identical with the “separatists” mentioned in t. Berakhot 3.25 as candidates for the special benediction in the Amidah. To be sure, the term perushim, ‘separatists,’ does not appear in the extant versions of Birkat ha-Minim, but three of the four types of sinners enumerated in Seder {Olam — apostates, minim, and informants — do. Furthermore, the minim constitute an almost organic part of the list in Seder {Olam, so it is clear that their citation in Birkat ha-Minim is justified. Finally, it is unlikely that the list of separatists in Seder {Olam was formed under the influence of Birkat ha-Minim. All this suggests that Shmuel the Small was probably not the first to mention the minim in the benediction devoted to them. That said, it is clear that Birkat ha-Minim introduces two distinct issues: those who separate themselves from the path of the commu-

135. See Safrai, “Gatherings in the Synagogues,” 11. 136. See Tosephta ki-Fshuta, Zera}im, 1.54.

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nity (a group that includes the minim), and the kingdom of evil. Thus we surmised137 that Birkat ha-Minim was formed through a synthesis of two benedictions — one against those who separate from the community, and another against the evil kingdom, i.e., Rome. It was this synthesis that was affected, apparently, by Shmuel the Small. Support for this suggestion is found in the words of the Tosefta (3.25) that “one may include the benediction of the minim in that of the separatists,”or alternately, “in that of the wicked.”138 It is possible that the heavy burden of Roman rule generated, at one time, a special benediction against this evil government. Originally located beside Birkat ha- Minim, the two were joined into a single benediction after the destruction of the Temple. This is merely a hypothesis, but one supported by the double form of Birkat ha-Minim and the variant readings of the Tosefta.139

VIII. Conclusions

We have traveled a long way in trying to arrive at the origins of Birkat ha- Minim. Along the way, we have had to employ various hypotheses, but these have worked to our advantage, as we have managed to uncover certain aspects of the religious sensibility of the Second Temple period, and to clarify a number of heretofore obscure issues regarding the history of the Amidah. The primary kernel of Birkat ha-Minim lies in the notion that while the God of Israel is a forgiving god, He will not absolve those who speak against Him or His glory — neither in this world nor in the next. Despite the long and winding road traversed by this idea — from its original kernel to the final form of Birkat ha-Minim — the core notion that sinners who scorn God’s glory “have no hope” remains constant. This same notion finds expression in the very end of chapter three of Seder {Olam: “[T]hose who separate themselves from the path of the community, for example the minim, the informers, the hypocrites andtheheretics...willbelockedinhellandtheywillbejudged in it for all eternity,forevermore....Onaccount of what? That they lifted their hands against the zevul.” Incidentally, other than the ‘hypocrites,’ the other three types of sinner are cited in Birkat ha-Minim. Both Seder {Olam and Birkat ha-Minim present a single type of sinner who scorns God’s glory: these are now defined as those who “separate them-

137. See notes 58 and 62, above. 138. See notes 67-69, above. 139. A possible parallel to the development of Birkat ha-Minim is the benediction “Builder of Jerusalem” in the Amidah, as discussed above.

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selves from the path of the community” and, in so doing, harm the Jewish people as a whole. True, the notion that these sinners are irredeemable remains, but the center of gravity has shifted from religious or theological definition of their transgression, to a “political” or social one.140 As the two passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls suggest,141 this shift toward a more national definition likely occurred during the Hasmonean reign. As noted, the sinners enumerated in Seder {Olam are characterized as having separated themselves from the path of the community. Were we to express this concept in a single word it would have to be perushim, ‘separatists,’ a word that also refers to the Pharisees. Indeed, t. Berakhot preserves a benediction aimed explicitly at these perushim. We may assume, then, the Birkat ha-Minim was once called Birkat ha-Perushim, ‘the benediction against the separatists,’and that it included this term. However, even though this term el- egantly epitomizes the list of separatists, it disappeared over time for reasons that are evident: for one thing, ‘Pharisees’ came to be associated with the Jew- ish sages themselves. Unlike these ‘Pharisee’ sages, who detested those who sought to divorce themselves from the Jewish people as a whole, the Essene sectarians at Qumran characterized themselves as having removed themselves from “the path of this people” (a statement based on Isaiah 8:11), and were even willing to state that “we have separated ourselves from the majority of the people”! We may assume, then, that the benediction against the perushim-minim was once aimed against the separatist Essene sect, particularly as this hypothesis finds support from other quarters. It is in this context that we argued that the benediction preceding Birkat ha-Minim refers to the Sadducees, while the subsequent benediction undoubtedly refers to the sages. On this reading, the three benedictions mirror the tripartite division of the Jewish people into Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees. As for Birkat ha-Minim itself, we have tried to show that it is made up of two originally independent benedictions, one aimed at the perushim (and the minim), and the benediction against the wicked, that prays for the speedy uprooting of the wicked kingdom. The final twist in the development of Birkat ha-Minim occurred after the destruction of the Second Temple. The historical evidence indicates that during the second temple the Jewish congregations came to understand Birkat ha-Minim as aimed against the Christians. Ultimately, at some point no later

140. Seder {Olam mentions that these sinners are damned to hell “for all eternity, forevermore” because they “lifted their hands against the zevul.” Birkat ha-Minim does not explicitly state that the sinners in question scorn God’s glory, but a benediction need not deal in speculative theology. 141. Manual of Discipline 64.6-13, and 4Q270.

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than the fourth century, the word ‘Christians’ was incorporated into the text of the benediction — though this occurred only in the Palestinian liturgy. I have presented an exhaustive and extensive survey, but it could not be otherwise given the subject at hand. It was necessary to trace the development of a single Jewish benediction over the course of many generations of growth and development in Jewish religious thought — undoubtedly one of the most important religious worldviews. Ancient Jewish thought was by no means impoverished or simplistic, rather sophisticated and sensitive.142 The history of Birkat ha-Minim is but one of many examples of the intellectual richness of Jewish religious thought of the time.

Note: The Qumran community considered it a religious obligation to stray from the way of the Jewish people as a whole, a people from whom they knowingly separated themselves. This view helps explain CD 20.22-24: “...the house of division (glp oyb) who left the holy city and leaned on God in the age of Israel’s unfaithfulness; be defiled the temple and turned back to the path of the people in some things.” Clearly, the faction who broke with the sect accepted some of the legal teachings of mainstream Judaism. Pesher Nahum also refers to this faction when it tells of the tragic end of “the house of division (glp oyb), who consorted with Manasseh” (4.1-3), that is, of those who joined with the Sadducees. The entire matter requires additional investigation.

Appendix: Rabbi Yehoshua and Birkat ha-Minim

Shmuel Safrai has called my attention to a formula in chapter four of Mish- nah Berakhot 4.4 (following MS Kaufmann): “He that journeys in a place of danger should pray a short prayer, saying ‘Save, O Lord, your people, Israel, but for those separating from the community (rwbye oqrp) — let their needs not come before you. Blessed are you, Lord, who hears prayer.”143 Numerous criteria suggest that the reading of MS Kaufmann is the

142. See J. H. Charlesworth, “Jesus Research: A Paradigm Shift for New Testament Scholars,” Australian Biblical Review 38 (1990), 26. 143. See David Henshke, “Birkat ha-Minim” (Hebrew), J. Tabori (ed.), From Qumran to Cairo (Jerusalem, 1999), 71-102.

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most original,144 even though it too appears to have been altered over time. It suggests that Rabbi Yehoshua’s short prayer takes the place of the eighteen benedictions. One is to pray for the redemption of the Jewish people, with the exception of those who divorce themselves from the people as a whole; one prays that the wishes of all Israel be fulfilled, but not of the separatists. In short, this is an allusion to Birkat ha-Minim, since those who separate themselves from the path of the community are, in fact, the minim. This is undoubtedly the meaning of the second part of Rabbi Yehoshua’s short prayer. We have here the earliest definite allusion to Birkat ha-Minim, and the content of the prayer supports our view in the above article.145 Here is a synoptic comparison of Rabbi Yehoshua’s benediction and Birkat ha-Minim:

Rabbi Yehoshua Birkat ha-Minim Those separating from the community Those who separate themselves from the path of the community Let their needs not come before you May they have no hope.146

144. Once again we refer to chapter three of Seder {Olam, whose list of sinners begins with the words: “But those who separate themselves from the path of the community, for example the minim etc.”In 1994, the Qumran text known as 4QMMT was published (volume X of the DJD series). The key phrase for our purposes is: “And you know that we have separated ourselves from the rest of the people and from [their impurity] and from mingling in these affairs” (4Q397 [= 4QMMTd] fragments 14-17, 7-8). See the comments, ad loc. 145. Henshke, “Birkat ha-Minim,” 94, cites a fascinating parallel to the version of Birkat ha-Minim attributed to Rabbi Yehoshua (Midrash Tanhuma [Buber edition], Korakh 12): “‘Pay no attention to their offering’ (Num. 16:15): Since these sons of Yours have separated themselves (parshu), do not look to their lot.” The same statement is found in MS Vaticanus 44, 233 q2 of Midrash Tanhuma. 146. See Henshke, “Birkat ha-Minim,” 95, n. 61.

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10. The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy

To Prof. Ezra Fleischer

The writings of the Qumran community — which has been identified, rightly to my mind, with the Essene sect — include a composition that was apparently among the most important and the most beautiful of works of the Hebrew literature of the Second Temple period. Unfortunately, only a few fragments survive, most of them quite small, though there is one larger fragment that will be discussed in some detail. The composition has been dubbed ‘The Book of the Mysteries’ by scholars.1 The scroll was written by a member of the Qumran community, or by someone who belonged to the religious movement from which Qumran emerged. It is a sectarian work that contains a unique blend of apocalyptic and eschatological visions (quite common in the Dead Sea Scrolls), alongside elements from the Wisdom literature. One example is the fragment2 that speaks of something that is purchased “without wealth, and will be sold without them paying him” (1QMyst 2.6)3 — a clear reference to

1. The fragments discovered in cave 1 were published in D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert I (Oxford, 1955), 102-107. The fragment under discussion appears on p. 103. Additional fragments of the Book of the Mysteries were found in cave 4. I have cited and discussed two such fragments in D. Flusser and S. Safrai, “In the Image of the Likeness of His Form,” in the present volume. 2. See Barthélemy and Milik, DJS I, 105. 3. These words allude to Isaiah 55:2. The targum to Isaiah understands this verse as a reference to Wisdom, and see also Ben Sira 51:25: “Gain wisdom for yourselves without money.”

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morality. Another fragment4 exhorts its readers “Hear you kings of the nations . . . with all the rulers of the earth.” To be sure, the text alludes to Psalm 2:10 (“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth”), but there is a closer connection to chapter six of the Wisdom of Solomon: “Hear then, you kings, and understand; take note, lords of the far corners of the earth.”5 Our analysis of the extant fragment of the Book of Mysteries will further demonstrate the ties between this text and Second Temple Wisdom literature. It should be noted that the same admixture of views characteristic of the Dead Sea community — that were, no doubt, shared by wider circles as well — with Wisdom motifs, is found in the Wisdom of Solomon as well.6 I have already discussed one important parallel between these works elsewhere,7 and there is a fascinating affinity between the eschatological-apocalyptic description in Wisdom of Solomon and the parallel discussion in the Qumran Hodayot.8 The stylistic and substantive affinity is so great, that we may hypothesize that the author of Wisdom of Solomon knowingly imitated the style of the Hodayot, or perhaps of a similar sectarian composition. In discussing these parallels it is important to remember that wisdom literature was not a uniquely Hebrew genre, and that there are Greek wisdom texts as well, especially since Wisdom of Solomon (which was composed in Greek) is based on Greek philosophical thought. Are there traces of Greek philosophy in the Book of Mysteries from Qumran? As the following discussion suggests, the answer to this question is most likely positive, providing us with a singular testimony to the possibility of Greek philosophical influence on the Dead Sea sect. I do not plan on concealing this information from the readers, though the main thrust of this study is to map out the connection between the Book of Mys- teries and a passage from the Rosh ha-Shanah Amidah liturgy. Let us begin by citing the Qumran passage, and then examine its meaning as well as its significance for the history of pre-70 Jewish literature and thought.

4. Barthélemy and Milik, DJD I, 106. 5. The Wisdom of Solomon, trans. David Winston (New York, 1979); there is also a reference to “you who rule the earth” in the opening oration of the Wisdom of Solomon. 6. For a discussion of the affinity between the Qumran literature and the Wisdom of Sol- omon see A. M. Dubarle, “Une source de Livre de la Sagesse,” Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques 19 (1953), 425-443. 7. D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” Judaism and the Ori- gins of Christianity, 65-67; D. Flusser, “The Dualism ‘Flesh-Spirit’ in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the New Testament” (Hebrew), Gerschom Scholem Festschrift (Jerusalem, 1958), 35-37. 8. See 1QHa 11.10-18, 26-36; 10.12-13, 25-28; 14.29-35. On the sudden ending of one of the Hodayot (11.26-36) and its striking parallel at the end of an apocalyptic passage in the Wisdom of Solomon, see J. Licht, Megillat ha-Hodayot, 83.

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2. mysteries of sin 3. ...alltheir wisdom. And they do not know the mystery of future events,9 nor understand ancient matters.10 And they do not 4. know what is going to happen to them; and they will not save their souls from the mystery of existence. 5. And this will be for you the sign11 that this is going to happen.12 When all that is born of sin is locked up, evil will disappear before justice as darkness disappears before 6. light. As smoke vanishes, and no longer exists, so will evil vanish forever. And justice will be revealed like the sun which regulates 7. the world. And all those who support the mysteries of sin13 will no longer exist. And knowledge will pervade the world, and there will never be folly there. 8. This word will undoubtedly happen, the prediction is truthful. And by this he will show you that [his word] will not return [unfulfilled]:14 Do not all

9. The Hebrew hyhn is an important term in the Qumran scrolls, and see Licht’s discussion in Megillat ha-Hodayot 163, and in his lexicon there. Here the word means: all future events. To my mind, the Greek translator of Ben Sira 42.19 (and see 48.25) was correct to translate owyhn as things that will occur in the future. See also Y. Yadin, The War Scroll, 340. 10. The language here is based on Isaiah 43:18. 11. Following Exodus 3:12. 12. The words hyhy yc are written above the line. 13. The phrase “mysteries of sin” (eqp yzr) is found in line 2 as well, and we will discuss its importance in what follows. The reading eqp yzr follows the first publication of the fragment (RB 56 [1949], 605-609), Licht’s reading (Megillat ha-Hodayot, 242), and the Vermes translation. Barthélemy and Milik (DJD I, 103) read alp yzr, ‘wonderful mysteries,’ a phrase that though attested elsewhere in the scrolls is incorrect here. 14. The formula “it is irrevocable” is of particular interest. The phrase bwqy al rbd is biblical (Isa. 45:23, and see the similar formula in Isa. 55:11), but the phrase as it appears here is a popular creation. Aside from the passage at hand, the phrase rwja bwqy al Frbdw appears in Hodayot 5.24-25, and this was most likely the reading of 1Q35 (1QHb) 1.10. But it is clear that this is a saying that was used in non-Qumran circles as well. The blessing after the reading of the Haftarah states “No word of Yours returns unfulfilled” (fkyr bwqy al rwja Fyrbdm dja rbdw). The last word, fkyr, is, however, an addition based on Isaiah 55:11, and is not attested in the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon (see the Goldschmidt edition, 77). According to the Siddur of Rav Saadia Gaon (Jerusalem, 1963), the blessing states “Your word will not return [unfulfilled]” (bwqy al rwja Frbdw) (p. 367), which corresponds to the language of the scrolls. The formula “Your word will not return [unfulfilled]” (bwqy al rwja Frbdw) is, then, quite ancient. It emerged as a way of expressing a religious truth, and was later used in a secondary sense in Jew- ish liturgy. In this sense, its fate is similar to that of the benediction “. . . that all was made through His word” (wrbdb hyhn lchq) (see my Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 267- 268), and “Truthful Judge” (omah vyyd), which appears not only in the famous blessing but also

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9. nations loathe sin? And yet, they all walk about under its influence. Does not praise of truth come from the mouth of all nations? 10. And yet, is there perhaps one lip or one tongue which persists with it? What people would wish to be oppressed by another more powerful than itself? Who 11. would wish to be sinfully looted of its wealth? And yet, which is the people not to oppress its neighbor? Where is the people which has not 12. looted another of its wealth?...andthereexists . . .

This is a very interesting passage, but unfortunately we can only hypothesize as to the broader context in which these verses originally appeared. What is clear is that up to line 5 the author attacks the sinners who have no understanding, who do not know the mystery of future events nor the meaning of the past. Since they do not know their future fate, they are unable to save themselves from the calamities that will surely come. In lines 5-7 the author addresses his readers, informing them of the future disappearance of all evil. This statement is preceded by a headline of sorts: “And this will be for you the sign that this is going to happen,”and at the conclusion of this lyrical description he refers to it as a “prediction” (aqm) (line 8). Does this mean that the description was lifted from another source, or is the “prediction” also part of the author’s composition? Though the question remains open, even if we were to discover that the roots of this prophetic passage reach back to the ancient past, it is likely that its present form was fixed by the author of the Book of Mysteries. Following the prediction — from line 8 and following — there is, essentially, a theoretical-philosophical discourse, whose conclusion is unfortunately lost. Its purpose is to persuade the reader that “this word will undoubtedly happen, the prediction is truthful.” The author then goes on to state: “And by this he will show you that [his word] will not return [unfulfilled],”15

in the Qumran Psalms Scroll 24.9 (J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (11QPsa) [DJD IV; Oxford, 1965], 70), and in an apocryphal psalm preserved in the Cairo genizah (see D. Flusser and S. Safrai, “The Apocryphal Psalms of David,” in the present volume). 15. See the previous note. The author means that God’s decisions cannot be changed but also that the prophetic pronouncement (that is, the prediction just presented) must come true. We have already seen that in the benediction following the Haftarah, “No word of Yours returns unfulfilled” means that the words of the just biblical prophets are all spoken in truth and will be realized in future days. The same view is attributed to Tobias the Elder in Tobit 14.4: “Indeed, every-

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referring to the above prophecy concerning the disappearance of all evil from the world. The content of the prediction may appear questionable to many readers: can one really say that “evil will vanish forever...knowledge will pervade the world, and there will never be folly there”? Will there ever arise a humanity untainted by sin and evil?16 Against those who would argue that the seeds of evil are to be found within human nature itself, our author responds that even today human nature is fundamentally good, even though man commits many evils.17 Here is the lesson of human history:

Do not all nations loathe sin? And yet, they all walk about under its influence. Does not praise of truth come from the mouth of all nations? And yet, is there perhaps one lip or one tongue which persists with it? What people would wish to be oppressed by another more powerful than itself? Who would wish to be sinfully looted of its wealth? And yet, which is the people not to oppress its neighbor? Where is the people which has not looted another of its wealth?

thing that was spoken by the prophets of Israel, whom God sent, will occur. Not one of their words will fail, but all will come true at their appointed times. . . . For I know and believe that whatever God has said will be fulfilled and will come true; not a single word of the prophecies will fail.”To a certain extent, the view that none of the words of the prophets will fail was viewed by the Pharisees as outdated, since the sages believed that human action can usually alter divine providence. See what I wrote in “The Pharisees and the Sages of the Stoa” (Hebrew), Iyyun 15 (1964), 318-329; Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 536-537; and the appendix, below. 16. This view is compatible with the position of the Qumran community, since our author also holds that the evildoers will be destroyed in the End of Days, “those who support the mysteries of sin will no longer exist” (line 7). Thus, only the righteous Sons of Light will remain. The Manual of Discipline also speaks of a purified humanity in the End of Days (4.18-23). We will see in what follows that this passage is of importance to the scroll under discussion. 17. As we will see immediately, the author of the scroll is influenced on this point by Greek philosophy, and his view is outside the mainstream of the Dead Sea community. The rabbinic sages express the view that mankind was created for righteousness, not evil: “ ‘[The Rock, hisworkisperfect...]without deceit’ (Deut. 32:4): For men were created not in order to be wicked but in order to be righteous, as it is said, ‘See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes’ (Eccl. 7:29)” (Sifre Deut. §307; Hammer, p. 310). According to the philosophical passage in our scroll, man wants the good, but nonetheless does evil. This view does not contradict the doctrine of the twin urges, but this doctrine is found only in the writings of the sages and is foreign to the Qumran teachings. The philosophic ideas of the author certainly do not fit with the dualism of the Sons of Light, who are good by their nature, against the Sons of Darkness, who are inherently evil. However, as we will see below, it is possible to join the idea that man is good by nature but does evil, with the worldview of the Hodayot, i.e., of a flesh-spirit dualism. On the difference between the Hodayot and the other scrolls see “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,”in the present volume; Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 60-71.

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It is worth noting that this passage thrice contrasts what is and what ought be: each of the first two lines contains this contrast, while the third and fourth lines oppose each other in this manner — no nation wants another nation, stronger than it, to wickedly loot it, yet all nations loot each other.18 Both the content and the literary quality of this philosophic passage are unusual, and one can only lament that the remaining text did not survive. In order to grasp the meaning of this passage within the broader context of the sect’s worldview, we must first examine two sources that express similar philosophical ideas, both of which occur in the Pauline letters and provide a similar explanation for the tension between what is and what ought to be. In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now, if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. (7:15-17).

According to Paul, then, the spirit that resides within man pushes him to desire the good, but the sin in his flesh prevents him from pursuing the good and ultimately he does that which he hates. This view informs Paul’s instruction to his followers (Galatians 5:16-17): “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.” According to these passages, Paul argues that the tension between man’s good intention and his evil deeds lies in the carnal aspect of man that enslaves him to sin. The dichotomy between the flesh and the spirit — an important part of the anthropology of Paul and the Hodayot19 alike — is nowhere to be found in the Qumran Book of Mysteries: here man is assumed not to be fundamentally evil, for when “evil [will] vanish forever” there will exist a humanity freed of sin and injustice. As we will see, this perspective distinguishes the Book of Mysteries from the Hodayot, and aligns it with the eschatological vi-

18. The critical social perspective and clear vision of the Realpolitik of the day accord perfectly with the sober approach of the Dead Sea community, quite unique in the Jewish landscape of the Second Temple period. See D. Flusser, “The Roman Empire in Hasmonean and Essene Eyes,” in the present volume. 19. See above, n. 17.

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sion of the Manual of Discipline (4.18-23) in which the spirit of holiness will purify mankind in the end of days. But first we must examine the philosophical passage. We have established that the passage serves as a proof of sorts for the correctness of the eschatological prediction that precedes it (lines 5-7), and that describes the disappearance of evil in the end of days: “This word will undoubtedly happen, and prediction is truthful.” But the central concept in this passage — and in Paul’s teachings, cited above — did not emerge from the hamartology and the anthropology of the Essenes, but rather is an independent concept taken from Greek philosophy. From a psychological perspective, the state in which a person hates injustice but does it nonetheless, belongs to the category of ‘ambivalence,’ a term that here refers to conflicting tendencies or aspirations.20 The words of the Book of Mysteries, “Do not all nations loathe sin? And yet, they all walk under its influence” have a precise parallel in Medea’s words in Ovid’s Metamorphoses: “I see the better course and approve, but follow its defeat.”21 Nor is this a purely psychological matter, rather it concerns the moral- theoretical aspect as well. It is further worth noting the philosophical dimension of Xenophon’s discussion in On the Education of Cyrus,22 where he explains man’s will to good and tendency to evil as rooted in the contrast between man’s good soul and his evil soul. Xenophon suggests that this view is typical of the sophists — and there is reason to think this is so. Indeed, man’s internal struggle between good intentions and evil deeds is one of the core issues of ancient Greek philosophy. Already Socrates raised the question of whether a man who knows the good can act in contrast to his right knowledge. According to Aristotle,23 Socrates answered this question in the negative — a man who possesses right judgment will never live a wanton life.24 Aristotle himself rejected this position, arguing that it contradicts ev- eryday experience. Plato too broke with Socrates on this point. The most

20. The psychological sense of the term was proposed by the famous Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939). 21. Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.21-22 (Brookes, trans.): “Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor.”See also Seneca’s statement (Epistles to Lucilius 21.1): “You prefer to praise the good and the proper than to adhere to it.”On the distinction between what is and what ought be in the literature of late antiquity, see O. Michel, Der Brief an die Römer (Göttingen, 1963), 176. Michel rightly refers to the Discourses of Epictetus (2.26). For a commentary on Ovid’s statement see F. Römer, P. Ovidius Naso, Metamorphosen Buch VI-VII (Heidelberg, 1976), 204, and the literature cited therein. 22. Book VI, 1.41. 23. Nicomachean Ethics 7.3. 24. See A. E. Taylor, Socrates (New York, 1953), 140-143. Epictetus held a similar position, and see the sources cited in n. 21.

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striking parallel to the philosophical position of the Book of Mysteries is found in the hymn to Zeus25 composed by Cleanthes, the disciple and heir of Zeno, the founder of Stoicism (died 231/232 b.c.e.). According to this hymn, miserable are those who do not live according to reason, for even though they yearn to reach the good, they neither know nor obey the divine law. Were they to obey this law, they would live a happy life — yet they pursue that which is opposed to the good. The similarity between the theoretical position of the Qumran document, and that of the Greek philosopher, is readily apparent. Moreover, there is another trait that ties the document to Greek thought: the contrast between will and action occurs in an explicitly political context. It is not the behavior of the individual that is under discussion, but the behavior of “all nations.” This too accords with the Greek model, according to which a concord of nations is one of the key proofs of the correctness of a philosophical position. A fascinating example of this approach is found in the speech given by the Greek philosopher Carneades in Rome in 155 b.c.e., in which he attacks the regnant ethical position — and, indeed, the entire world view — of the Stoa.26 The content of this speech is recorded by Cicero in book three of De Republica. Carneades argued that there is no reason to think that there is one natural moral law that is common to mankind. Nations do not pursue justice, but rather their own self-interest. After citing this view, Cicero introduces an interlocutor who argues against it, suggesting that there is one eternal natural law, namely right reason.27 This law is immutable and shared by all, drawing us nearer to desirable action, and distancing us from error. The righteous are those who obey it, while the wicked cast off its yoke. It applies to all nations and holds forever, for its roots are in God. Whoever does not obey this law flees from himself, for he disparages human nature itself, and for this he will suffer harsh punishment. A close examination of the rebuttal to Carneades reveals that both its content and its terminology mark it as distinctly Stoic. And there is reason to believe that this is also the intellectual background to the philosophic passage in the Book of Mysteries. For the Stoics, man is fundamentally good, but nonetheless does evil. Moreover, drawing on the behavior of nations as proof of this statement is itself very much a part of Stoic thought. Thus the conclusion that the doctrine of the Jewish Essene scroll reflects the influence of

25. J. von Arnim, Stoicorum veterum fragmenta (Stuttgart, 1905; reprinted 1964), 1.557 (121-123, lines 13, 18-27). 26. On Carneades’ critique of Stoicism see M. Pohlenz, Die Stoa (Göttingen, 1959), 1.175- 180. 27. Cicero, De Republica 3.22, 33; and see Lactantius, Inst. 6.8.6-9.

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Greek thought on the Jewish intellectual world of the time, a phenomenon hereto unattested in Qumran literature. This in addition to the timeless significance of this philosophical passage, for even in our own day all the nations loathe sin — but “they all walk about under its influence.”28

III

Stoic ethics suggest that the divine natural law causes man to desire the good, but his own folly leads him to sin. This appears to be the fundamental view of the Jewish author of the Book of Mysteries. However, there is a marked difference between the two regarding the source of this human tendency to sin: while the Stoa explains this tendency as rooted in mankind’s departure from the reason that governs the world, the sectarian author of 1QMysteries, who apparently belonged to the dualistic faction of Judaism, was convinced that “all that is born of sin” stems from supernatural forces of evil. These forces currently wield power within our world, but will not do so forever:

God, in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom of his glory, has determined an end to the existence of injustice and on the appointed time of the visitation he will obliterate it forever. Then truth shall rise up forever in the world, for it has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for the judgment decided. Then God will refine, with his truth, all man’s deeds, and will purify for himself the structure29of man, ripping out all spirit of injustice from the innermost part of his flesh, and cleansing him with the spirit of holiness from every wicked deed. He will sprinkle over him the spirit of truth like lustral water (in order to cleanse him) from all the abhorrences

28. At the end of the Book of Mysteries we find: “What people would wish to be oppressed by another more powerful than itself? Who would wish to be sinfully looted of its wealth? And yet, what nation does not oppress its neighbor? Where is the people which has not looted another for wealth?” The modern reader may interpret this as an argument regarding the selfishness of the individual, but it seems this was not the view espoused by ancient philoso- phers. The fact that no nation would want a stronger nation to exploit and wickedly loot its property, may very well have been another indication of the ethical paradox of yearning for the good while doing evil, since ancient philosophy held that the desire for the good is teleological. On the difference between the modern approach to ethical perfection — which must be non- teleological — and the ancient, see F. Dirlmeier, Aristoteles: Die Nikomachische Ethik (Berlin, 1957), 9-10. 29. Reading hnbm for ynbm, as proposed by Y. Yadin,“A Note on DSD IV20,” JBL 74 (1955), 40-43.

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of deceit and (from) the defilement of the unclean spirit [. . .] There will be no more injustice and all the deeds of trickery will be a dishonor. (1QS 4.18-23)

We see, then, that the Qumran community held that not only the evildoers, but evil itself will ultimately be destroyed, and the spirit of holiness will purify mankind both in the spirit and in the flesh “from every wicked deed.”30 To be sure, in the present time “by the Angel of Darkness are the corruption of all the sons of justice, and all their sins, their iniquities, their guilts and their offensive deeds are under his dominion in compliance with the myster- iesofGod,untilhisend...andallthespirits of his lot cause the sons of light to fall” (1QS 3.20-24), but in future days man will be freed of the power of injustice, and the tension between his will to good and his evil action will dissipate. But even given this difference in the explanation of the origins of evil, the author of the Book of Mysteries reached similar conclusions to those of the Stoa, and thus was able to include in his composition a passage that draws on Stoic philosophy. Our findings thus far explain why the philosophical passage in 1QMysteries serves to justify the eschatological prediction that precedes the passage (lines 5-7), and discusses the destruction of evil. The content of the prediction parallels the teaching of the Manual of Discipline cited above (4.18- 23) concerning the dissipation of injustice, and provides striking details absent from that passage.31 Here, once again, is the language of the prediction:

When all that is born of sin is locked up, evil will disappear before justice as darkness disappears before light. As smoke vanishes,32 and no longer exists, so will evil vanish forever. And justice will be revealed like the sun which regulates the world. And all those who support the mysteries of sin will no longer exist. And knowledge will pervade the world, and there will never be folly there.

This is clearly an eschatological vision of redemption, quite typical in Second Temple literature, and the motifs it employs have important parallels in other apocalyptic writings. The dualism evident in the passage is also typical of Jewish apocalyptic visions, though the concatenation of fixed terms

30. See my article on the baptism of John In Judaism and the Origins of Christianity. 31. The similarity between the two passages — that of the Manual of Discipline and that of the Book of Mysteries — was noted already by J. Licht, “An Analysis of the Treatise on the Two Spirits in DSD,” Scripta Hierosolymitana 4 (1958), 96 n. 30. 32. For a discussion of the biblical formula that underlies this image see below, n. 55.

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marking the dichotomy between good and evil is more characteristic of Qumran literature: evil — justice, darkness — light, knowledge — folly. One of these contrasting pairs is of particular importance to the present discussion. As we saw above, the Qumran community believed that God, “in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom of his glory, has determined an end to the existence of injustice and on the appointed time of the visitation he will obliterate it forever” (1QS 4.18-19).33 The “mysteries of his knowledge” is but one of the formulas used to describe the “mysteries of God” that are active throughout the world.34 But before evil can be destroyed completely in the days of the government of Belial, a counterforce must be overcome, namely, the “mysteries of enmity” of Belial (1QM 14.9). In other words, there are “mysteries of sin” that oppose the “mysteries of God.” This particular term is distributed quite widely in the sect’s writings. It is found in Aramaic (aeqr zr) in the Genesis Apocryphon (1.2),35 in a small fragment of the Hodayot (1QHa 24[top].5), as well as in the main body of the Hodayot (8.36), where we find that the “mysteries of sin... have altered the deeds of God.”36 The nefarious activity of the mysteries of sin will come to an end when God “will refine, with his truth, all man’s deeds” (1QS 4.20). The phrase “mysteries of sin” is found twice in the Book of Mysteries.37 The second occurrence states that when evil is destroyed, “all those who support the mysteries of sin will no longer exist.”This statement can be explained in light of the apocalyptic passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12, which discusses

33. Similarly, the author of the Hodayot exhorts God “All injustice and wickedness obliterate forever” (1QHa 6.15-16). 34. See 1QpHab 7.8; 1QS 3.23; 1QM 3.9; 16.9, 14; 17.17. See also Discoveries in the Judaean Desert IV (Oxford, 1982), 25, 222, and compare 1Enoch 63.3. The phrase “mysteries of God” appears in the original version of Luke 8:10, and its meaning there fits with the Qumran ideology. On this see D. Flusser, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse (Bern, 1981), 274, and 281 n. 31. 35. See J. A. Fitzmyer, The Genesis Apocryphon (Rome, 1966), 42, 70. 36. The formula “mysteries of evil . . . have altered” is also found in a remnant of one of the Hodayot according to Kuhn’s reconstruction (M. G. Kuhn, Konkordanz zu den Qumrantexten [Göttingen, 1960], 203). The remnant is made up of two Hodayot fragments that were preserved separately, fragment 9 and fragment 50, both found in column 24. Another interesting parallel between these texts occurs in Hodayot 13.36-37, where immediately after the phrase “mysteries of sin”, the poet writes: “For I am tied with ropes which can not be untied, with chains which can not be broken” (and see also Hodayot 16.34-35), while in fragment 9 the author says that he is in “ropes of the spirit” and that he is “bound until the end of your will” (1QHa 24.7-9). This whole issue requires further investigation. (There may also be some similarity between the language of the Hodayot and 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, where both the mysteries of sin and “one who restrains” are mentioned.) 37. See note 13, above.

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the ultimate defeat of the antichrist,38 and which contains the phrase “mystery of sin” itself (2:7-10). In this epistle, Paul writes of the end of “those who support the mysteries of sin” — as they are called in the Book of Mysteries — as follows: The appearance of the antichrist will come “in the working of Sa- tan, who uses...everykind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sent them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned” (9-12). The antichrist “may be revealed when his time comes; for the mystery of sin is already at work” (6-7). The Greek text clearly indicates that, as in the Book of Mysteries, the actions of the mysteries of sin are nothing less than the actions of the devil. Clearly, then, both the character and the ultimate downfall of those who support the mysteries of sin in the Book of Mysteries, are strikingly similar to the apocalyptic doctrine in 2 Thessaloni- ans regarding “all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.” As noted, the Pauline epistle holds that the activity of the mystery of sin will bring about an outburst of absolute evil in the end of days, which will then be utterly destroyed. The ultimate eradication of evil from the world is described in the visionary passage in 1QMysteries (lines 5-7), which states that evil will disappear after “all that is born of sin is locked up.”39 For by locking up “all that is born of sin” evil will no longer have a path into our world, and only then will the world and its inhabitants be purified “of the unclean spirit” (see 1QS 4.18-23). Does the phrase “all that is born of sin” reflect some sort of sectarian mythical geography? This would indeed appear to be the case.40 The Manual of Discipline states that “from the spring of light stem the generations of truth, and from the source of darkness the generations of deceit (lweh owdlwo)” (3.19). In other words, the sect holds that truth is born “from

38. The earliest Jewish text to mention the antichrist was discovered in the Qumran library and published by E. Puech, “Fragment d’une apocalypse en arameén (4Q246 = pseudo- Dan2),” RB 99 (1992), 99-131. I discuss this text in D. Flusser, “The Hubris of the Antichrist in a Fragment from Qumran,” Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 213-217. The term ‘antichrist’ does not appear in 2 Thessalonians nor in the Qumran passage. 39. The Hebrew is hlwe ydlwm. 1QHa 20.8 contains the phrase oe ydlwm (the births of time) but its meaning is purely astronomical. See Licht, Megillat ha-Hodayot, 183. 40. For a discussion of this point see D. Flusser and S. Safrai, “The Essene Doctrine of Hypostasis,” Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 311. The sect’s dualism of good and evil, light and darkness, does indeed have a significant ethical component, but its roots are in a cosmic-mythic worldview. This does not, of course, exclude the possibility that among the members of the Qumran community there were those who understood terms such as “all that is born of sin,” “spring of light,” and “source of darkness” as primarily symbolic.

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the spring of light,” while deceit springs from “the source of darkness.”41 The formula “all that is born of sin” is similarly derived from the language of par- turition, and presumably in the mythical geography of the sect, those “born of sin” emerge from “the source of darkness,” from which, again, comes deceit. We will see below that “all that is born of sin” most likely emerge from Sheol. We have already seen that the apocalyptic vision of redemption in the Qumran Book of Mysteries complements the eschatological processes described in Manual of Discipline 4.18-23. However, the mythical force of the phrase “all that is born of sin” becomes clearer through an examination of one of the Hodayot (11.5-18), which is rightly called ‘birth pangs of the Mes- siah.’42 Notwithstanding the various difficulties in this text, there is no doubt that the author alludes to the birth pangs and birth of the messiah.43 The author describes the birth of the savior and the birth pangs involved in the process, and contrasts it to a cosmic process that results in the eruption of evil into the world. The raging attack of evil in the end of days fits well with the general pattern of eschatological and apocalyptic descriptions, and we have already seen that according to chapter two of 2 Thessalonians evil is about to attack, for the mysteries of sin — now familiar to us from the Book of Mysteries — have already begun their activity. Our hymn describes a parallel process, involving the birth pangs and birth of the messiah, on the one hand, and the cosmic eruption of evil, on the other, an eruption that is itself described as a birthing process: “In the woman expectant with him rush all the contraction and the racking pain at their birth; terror (seizes) those expectant with them, and at his birth all the labor-pains come suddenly, in the ‘crucible’ of the pregnant woman. And she who is pregnant

41. These phrases are reminiscent of Job 38:17-19: “Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?...Whereisthewaytothedwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness?” 42. For a discussion of this text see O. Betz, “Die Geburt der Gemeinde durch den Lehrer,” New Testament Studies 3 (1957), 312-326, and the criticism raised against Betz’s reading by J. Meier, Die Texte vom Toten Meer (München, 1960), 2.72-73. See also my article “At the Right Hand of Power,” Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 301-303. Scholars have already noted the relevance of this text for the apocalyptic tradition in Revelation chapter 12, which also includes a mythical birth of a child-messiah and the simultaneous eruption of evil. See P. Prigent, Apocalypse 12 (Tübingen, 1959); R. D. Aus, “The Relevance of Isaiah 66:7 to Revelation 12 and 2 Thessalonians 1,” ZNW 67 (1976), 252-268. 43. On the relationship between this text and the passage from 1QMysteries, see D. Flusser, “The Reflection of Jewish Messianic Beliefs in Early Christianity” (Hebrew), in Z. Baras (ed.), Messianism and Eschatology (Jerusalem, 1983), 103-134, and especially the discussion of the phrase ‘birth pangs of the Messiah,’ 132-133.

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with a serpent44 is with a racking pang; and the breakers of the pit result in all deeds of terror” (1QHa 11.10-12). This terrible process and its ultimate conclusion are depicted at the end of the Hymn: “and the gates of Sheol open for all the deeds of the serpent. And the doors of the pit close upon the one expectant with injustice, and everlasting bolts upon all the spirits of the serpent” (11.17-18). If so, the matrices through which evil bursts into the world are mentioned twice in this Hymn. It stands to reason that these matrices emerge from Sheol at the place referred to in the Manual of Disci- pline 3.19 as “the source of darkness.” In the end of days, after the great eruption of evil, “the doors of the pit close upon the one expectant with injustice, and everlasting bolts upon all the spirits of the serpent” (1QHa 11.18). As for what occurs “when all that is born of sin is locked up,” this is described in lines 5-7 of the Book of Mysteries, namely, the absolute exorcism of evil from the world — that is reflected in the Amidah of the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy.45 However, it was necessary to discuss 1QMysteries in its entirety in order to discuss the full import of the connection between the Qumran passage and the liturgy that is still used in synagogues to this day.

When I decided to dedicate this study to the path-breaking scholarship of Prof. Ezra Fleischer, his book on Palestinian liturgy had not yet been published.46 In light of his findings,47 a revolution has occurred in our understanding of the development of the passages “We pray, then, that you place your reverence...” (vcbw Fdjp vo) that are today recited by all the Jewish communities on Rosh

44. The Hebrew hepa appears in Job 20:16 and in Isaiah 30:6 and 59:5, the latter of which describes the birth of injustice: “They hatch adder’s eggs...andthecrushed egg hatches out a viper.”Thus the author of the Hodayot had before him a literary connection between ‘viper’ and an evil that will erupt in the end of days and will come into existence through something akin to a birth process. In 1QHa “for pains will burst forth the viper and emptiness in the rise of their waves” (10.27-28); while the hymn concerning the birth pangs of the Messiah states: “she who is pregnant with a viper” (11.12) and “the gates of Sheol open for all the deeds of the viper” (3.17- 18). John the Baptist — who was close to the Essene circles — may have called sinners a “brood of vipers” (Matt. 3:7; Lk. 3:7), but he may also have called them ‘adders,’ also following Isaiah 59:5, cited also in CD 5.14. 45. The connection between the Book of Mysteries and the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy was discussed in Flusser, “The Reflection of Jewish Messianic Beliefs in Early Christianity,”130, n. 73. 46. E. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy and Liturgical Custom in the Genizah (Jerusalem, 1988). 47. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 125-132.

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ha-Shanah in the third benediction of the Amidah.48 Prior to Fleischer’s work, it was generally held that these passages were remnants of the “Kingship verses” (owywclm) according to the view of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, namely, that the “Kingship verses” should be appended to the third benediction that deals with the sanctification of God’s name, i.e., martyrdom. As against this view, Rabbi Aqiva held (and his view was accepted in practice) that one should append the “Kingship verses” to the fourth benediction. “Scholars concluded that the ‘Kingship verses’ remained in the third blessing, a relic from the time that Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri’s position was accepted. However, the argument goes, the “Kingship verses” that came after these passages were omitted so as not to form a redundancy with what had already been fixed in the benediction of the sanctity of the day.”49 Since these very paragraphs include a passage that undoubtedly exhibits a close literary connection with 1QMysteries, we can build on our earlier conclusions in light of Fleischer’s new book. The Palestinian Geniza material leads Fleischer to the conclusion that “there is almost no possibility but to state that the passages in question [i.e. ‘We pray, then, that you place your reverence . . .’] were not part of the standard Palestinian liturgy in the Geniza period, neither in the prayer of individual nor in that of the congregation.”50 If so, Fleischer concludes, the hypothesis that “We pray, then, that you place your reverence...”wasoriginally intended as a preface to the “Kingship verses,”though elegant, is something of a reach, as it requires that we radically push back the dating of the redaction of this section.51 Today there can be no doubt that these passages belong to the Babylonian custom, and that from Babylon they spread to the liturgies of other Jewish congregations. In that case, asks Fleischer, were these passages composed in Babylon? He responds that there is no reason to deny this possibility, and concludes the discussion as follows: “It is certainly possible that the ‘We pray, then, that you place your reverence...’passages are indeed of Baby- lonian origin. However, it is also possible that the Babylonian sages adapted to their own needs earlier liturgical texts originally intended for other purposes — indeed, perhaps the Palestinian preface to the ‘Kingship verses’ according to the ruling of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri. This issue is of no real importance, and moreover cannot be decided.”52 This is undoubtedly true: there is no way to decide the matter with ab-

48. For a bibliography of studies dealing with these passages see Fleischer, Palestinian Lit- urgy, 125 n. 127. 49. See Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 129-130. 50. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 126. 51. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 130-131. 52. Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 132.

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solute certitude. However, the extant remains of the Qumran Book of Mys- teries strongly suggest that “We pray, then, that you place your reverence...” is of Palestinian origins. Here are the opening lines of the relevant part of the High Holy Days Amidah:

Then53 the righteous will see and rejoice, while the upright exult, and virtuous sing joyously And injustice shall shut its mouth And all evil54 shall dissipate like smoke55 For you shall pass the government of evil from the earth And you alone will rule over all your creatures [. . .]

To fully understand the meaning of this passage it is necessary to examine the biblical passages that underlie it. The language of the benediction, “And injustice shall shut its mouth,” is based on Job 5:16: “And injustice shuts its mouth,” but the opening lines allude to Psalm 107:42: “The upright see it and rejoice; and all injustice shuts its mouth.”56 But what is the precise nature of the evil that will dissipate like smoke? Did the author of the benediction mean the end of the reign of the fourth wicked kingdom? This reading certainly suits the general spirit of the “King- ship verses” and the meaning of the Rosh ha-Shanah holiday itself. For already the ancients understood the phrase ‘wicked kingdom’ as a reference to

53. The Hebrew here should read zaw and not vcbw, a secondary form that is based on the opening of the previous paragraphs. See Mahzor le-Yamim ha-Nora}im, A. Goldschmidt (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1970), 21 n. 19. Though secondary, vcbw is found in the liturgy of many different communities, and is even attested in the Geniza. See Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 129, and 130 n. 149. 54. This phrase, hlwc heqrhw, is to be preferred to the more widely attested hlwc heqrh lc. The latter weakens the force of the blessing, but its origins are clear enough. The former is attested in Rabbi Seligman Baer, Seder {Avodat Isra}el (Redelheim, 1933), along with the liturgy of Roma and of Sicily. 55. Two verses from the Psalms are relevant to the benediction and to the Qumran Book of Mysteries: Psalm 102:3 (“For my days pass away like smoke”) and, especially, 37:20 (“But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish — like smoke, they vanish away”). In both verses we offer the reading ‘as smoke’ (vqec) rather than the generally accepted ‘in smoke’ (vqeb). This appears to be the correct reading on the evidence of the biblical manuscripts (see the versions cited in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia). More- over, this is the reading attested in the High Holy Days liturgy and in the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., in the Book of Mysteries and in the Pesher to Psalm 33:20 (4QpPsa 3.7-8), both in the cited verse and in the body of the pesher. 56. Other relevant verses are Psalm 32:11: “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart”; Psalm 132:9: “. . . let your faithful shout for joy”; and Job 22:19: “The righteous see it and are glad.”

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Rome,57 as evidenced by the fact that various liturgical traditions (Geniza texts, as well as the prayer books of Aleppo, Persia, and — via Maimonides — Yemen) add “and the rejoicing kingdom will be speedily uprooted” (rkeo hrhmb hzyleh owclmw) immediately following “for you shall pass the government of evil from the earth” — where “rejoicing kingdom” is a reference to the Roman Empire.58 This is also the interpretation offered in the prayer book of the Hasidei Ashkenaz: “Injustice shall shut its mouth: that is, the wicked kingdom that is full of injustice will clench shut its mouth, and there will be no speech against Israel...‘governmentofevil’referstothis wicked kingdom...theRomanEmpire.”59 The Vitry prayer book offers the same interpretation (p. 367): “‘Injustice,’ that is, the wicked kingdom that is injustice throughout [. . .] that is, you will pass from this world the government of evil, the wicked kingdom.”And it is indeed very easy to interpret the formula ‘government of evil’ as referring to the wicked kingdom, since ‘kingdom of evil’ referred to the Roman Empire60 as far back as the time that Birkat ha-Minim was composed.61 However, the connection between ‘kingdom of evil’ and the wicked kingdom existed even prior to Birkat ha-Minim. Already in the words of Isaiah (50:21-22) the Babylonian Empire is called ‘evil’, and Ben Sira will later express the wish (35:22-23) that “God indeed will not delay and like a warrior will not be still; Till he breaks the backs of the merciless and wreaks vengeance upon the nations; Till he destroys the scepter of the wicked and breaks off short the staff of the sinner.”But even though ‘kingdom of evil’ became a political formula par excellence — at least from the time of Birkat ha- Minim — it does not follow that the petition to destroy the ‘government62 of evil’ in the High Holy Days Amidah service referred to the fourth kingdom in

57. See Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 129 n. 143, and 130 n. 149. 58. See L. Zunz, Die synagogale Poesie (Frankfurt, 1920), 455. 59. See Siddur Rabbenu Shlomo, M. Hirschler (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1972), 207-208. 60. See Zunz, Die synagogale Poesie, 454. 61. See Flusser, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 641. The original Ashkenazic version is found in }Otzar ha-Tefilot (Vilnius, 1923), 336-337, and see also Siddur Tefilat Isra}el (Tel Aviv, 1969), 49. 62. The use of ‘government of evil,’ instead of the more common ‘kingdom of evil,’ is pe- culiar. I have not found any indication that the word ‘government’ was used as a pejorative term for the ‘wicked kingdom.’ However, we do find many instances of ‘government’ with a negative noun in the Dead Sea Scrolls, referring to the wicked dominion of Satan. For example: ‘the government of Belial,’ ‘the government of evil’ (i.e. of the Angel of Darkness [Manual of Discipline 3.23]), ‘government of injustice’ (Manual of Discipline 4.19), and the ‘minister of the government of evil’ (War Scroll 17.5). The term zadon, ‘evil,’appears six times in the Qumran literature. The most significant for the present discussion is Pesher Nahum 3.4, which refers to ‘the evil of [the] guilt’ (fomqa vwdz) of the Pharisees.

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the end of days. To the contrary, if we examine the entire passage carefully we will find that it is far more probable that the kingdom that is to be destroyed is understood in cosmic-ethical terms, rather than a political entity. Just as it will become possible to check the spread of injustice, so too wickedness will disappear altogether, thus marking the end of the dominion of evil in the world.63 Then God alone will be king over all creation. This interpretation can be decisively established by comparing our liturgical passage with the eschatological section of the Qumran Book of Mysteries. As the following demonstrates, even the order of topics is identical:

1Qmysteries Prayer When all that is born of sin is locked up And injustice shall shut its mouth As smoke vanishes, and no longer exists, And all evil shall dissipate like so will evil vanish forever smoke And all those who support the mysteries For you shall pass the government of sin will no longer exist of evil from the earth

It is noteworthy that the Qumran document serves to elucidate the meaning of the liturgy and not vice versa. Thus, for example, the parallels with the Qumran material lead us to the conclusion that the phrase ‘government of evil’ does not refer to the Roman Empire, but rather to the dominion of evil in the world. Similarly, without the scrolls it would be difficult to divine the meaning of ‘And injustice shall shut its mouth’ — a phrase that contains elements taken from Job and Psalms, as discussed above. The parallel, however, indicates that the author of the prayer understood the biblical phrase as alluding to injustice closing its mouth, thus preventing further evil from bursting into the world; consequently, evil itself will dissipate like smoke. We are thus forced to admit that there was indeed a literary connection between the liturgical passage and the Qumran Book of Mysteries. There is, of course, one major difference between the texts: the radical dualism and the concomitant terminology, so regular in the Qumran writings, are wholly absent from the prayer, which makes no mention of the divisions ‘light- darkness,’ ‘wicked-righteous,’ ‘knowledge-folly.’ Does this difference mean that it was the prayer that influenced the formation of the parallel passage in the Book of Mysteries? Unfortunately, this

63. Enoch Zundil’s commentary, {Etz Yosef in }Otzar ha-Tefilot, 1026, rightly states: “And injustice shall shut its mouth...that is, there will be no more wicked men in the world until the messianic age [. . .] ‘wickedness’ refers to wicked deeds that will dissipate [. . .] for when injustice shuts its mouth, wickedness will dissipate of its own agency. And note that this does not refer to the wicked kingdom, for this is not the sense of the prayer at this point.”

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hypothesis is quite improbable, since it has just been conclusively demonstrated that, as far as its content is concerned, the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy is a perfect fit with the religious worldview of Qumran.64 This is not the case, however, with the religious worldview of the sages, in which the liturgical passage fits much less well. Both the liturgical passage and the Book of Mys- teries express a distinct segment of the Qumran sect’s ideology, complement- ing the material in Manual of Discipline 4.18-23. That is, we have before us an explanation of what will occur in the desired end of days, namely, the division of the world into the forces of righteousness and injustice, for “God, in the mysteries of his knowledge and in the wisdom of his glory, has determined an end to the existence of injustice and on the appointed time of the visitation he will obliterate it forever” (1QS 4.18-19). It is hard to find in the teachings of the sages any parallel to the highly distilled theological-metaphysical description of the eschatological banishment of evil from the world described in both 1Qmysteries and the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy. The most appropriate time to include this theological position into the general Jewish liturgy is the High Holy Days, a time of sublime spirituality, in which the soul seeks out answers regarding the ultimate purpose of the good and evil found in man and in the world. The determination that Essene thought influenced the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy is not itself particularly difficult; however, the precise channels of this influence remain obscure. We noted above that the Book of Mysteries illumi- nates the language of the prayer, not vice versa,65 even though the liturgical passage reflects the religious thought of the Dead Sea community. This literary aspect leads us, willy-nilly, to propose that both this section of the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy and our passage in 1Qmysteries emerged from a common source, a source that was undoubtedly part of the Qumran literature. Indeed, the author of the Book of Mysteries testifies that the eschatological vision of the disappearance of all evil (lines 5-7) did not originate with him: “This word will undoubtedly happen, the prediction is truthful” (line 8). However, the precise details that lead to the composition of the Essene Book of Mys-

64. That is, the religious ideas discussed in the third section of the present essay. 65. Again, the issue here is the unique interpretation of the phrase ‘injustice shall shut its mouth’ found in the Qumran scrolls (without citing the biblical prooftexts): in the End of Days, the birth channels (the mouth) of injustice (see 1Qmysteries and Hodayot 11.11, 17-18). The subsequent language of the Rosh ha-Shanah liturgy (“And all evil shall dissipate like smoke”) is closer to that of Psalm 37:20 (“But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish — like smoke, they vanish away”), than to the parallel statement in the Book of Mysteries (“As smoke vanishes, and no longer exists, so will evil vanish forever”).

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teries within the Qumran sect, and of the High Holy Days passage outside it — these remain unknown for want of evidence. Be that as it may, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has cast a powerful light on the High Holy Days Amidah prayer. Moreover, the short passage at hand emerges as a key element in the history of Jewish liturgy: this appears to be the only known instance of discernible Essene influence on the religious creation of the sages. It seems to me that any explanation of this tangible influence of Qumran thought on the liturgy, must assume that the contact between these two very different worlds existed very early on. This conclusion paves the way for a renewed examination (although not in its earlier, simplistic form) that the “We pray, then, that you place your reverence” (Fdjp vo vcbw) passages of the High Holy Days liturgy did once serve as an introduction to the “Kingdom verses” in the Palestinian liturgy, following the custom of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri.66 In arriving at this conclusion we have sought to understand the meaning of the entire passage from the Book of Mysteries, and in so doing have gained a deeper understanding of the eschatological vision of Qumran and its influence on the New Testament. In addition, we have established 1Qmys- teries as a singular witness to the influence of Greek philosophy on the Qumran community. It is our hope that in so doing we have been able to reveal something of the twists and turns of our Torah in the ancient past, a goal I share with the scholar to whom this study is dedicated.

Appendix: The Book of Mysteries and the Haftarah Blessings (addendum to notes 14-15)

The Book of Mysteries of Qumran states: “This word will undoubtedly happen, the prediction is truthful. And by this he will show you that [his word] will not return [unfulfilled].” A parallel passage appears in the Hodayot (1QHa 5.24-25):

For [you are the truth, and] your word does not return unfulfilled. And I, your servant, have known thanks to the spirit you have placed in me [. . .] and all your deeds are just, and your word does not return unfulfilled.

66. See Fleischer, Palestinian Liturgy, 132.

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Here the language of the scrolls is very close to that of the blessings that come prior to and following the Haftarah reading. This is no coincidence since, as Heinemann states, these benedictions “were formulated very early on, centuries before the destruction of the Temple.”67 The first of these benedictions states that God “chose good prophets and showed favor toward their pronouncements, spoken in truth.” The benediction asserts, then, not only that the words of the prophets are true, but that they are good and faithful prophets — unlike the false prophets.68 The benediction following the Haftarah reading similarly asserts that God is faithful in all his deeds and adds — in language reminiscent of the scrolls — that his word will not return unfulfilled. The conclusion of the benediction: “Blessed are you Lord, the faithful God in all his pronouncements.” Accord- ing to Amir,69 this conclusion reflects the letter nun verse in the acrostic Psalm 145, a verse that is famously absent from the Masoretic text but is attested in the Septuagint and the Peshitta, as well as one Medieval Hebrew manuscript. There we find: “Faithful is the Lord in all his words and upright in all his deeds.” Essentially the same verse is found in the Qumran psalter, with one significant difference: “Faithful is God (Elohim) in all his words, etc.” Now, the Qumran scribe took care throughout the psalm to preserve the Tetragrammaton (using the ancient Hebrew script), but in this problematic verse he does not do so, but rather replaces it with “Elohim,” as is the custom in the explicitly sectarian compositions! In other words, the scribe knew that the verse in question was a late addition — even though this addition was clearly made at an early time. Incidentally, the discussion thus far demonstrates that the Haftarah blessings are quite ancient.70

67. J. Heinemann, Prayer in the Tannaitic and Amoraic Period, 144. 68. The phrase ‘truthful prophet’ (vman aybn) is found in one Qumran fragment, 4Q375, as well as in the (presumed) Hebrew original of 1 Maccabees 14.41. 69. Y. Amir, “A Trace of a Lost Verse?” (Hebrew), Bet Miqra 38 (1993), 80-82. 70. As the galleys of this article went to press fragments 4Q290, 4Q300, and 4Q301 were published by B. Z. Wacholder and M. G. Abegg, A Preliminary Edition of the Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls (Washington D.C., 1992), 2.1-37.

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11. Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll

The War Scroll makes a single explicit reference to the “king of the Kittim,”1 at 15.2, though the biblical term Kittim is mentioned time and again. In order to understand the historical background of the War Scroll, it is best that we first establish the identity of the Kittim and of their king. The term Kittim is, as noted, biblical, mentioned inter alia in Numbers 24:24: “Ships shall come from Kittim” (cf. Daniel 11:30). This verse is the primary reason that Jews in later times tended to refer to nations that arrived in Israel by ship as “Kittim.” Josephus (AJ 1.128) states that the Hebrews call all the islands and many of the locations along the shore “Kittim.”Thus we find that the term appears in Jew- ish sources in reference to both the Greeks and the Romans. For example,2 the Kittim mentioned in 1 Maccabees (1.1; 8.5) are Greek, while other Jewish sources attribute the term to Romans.3 The latter situation consistently holds in the Qumran Pesharim, texts that reflect the linguistic conventions of the Dead Sea community in the post-Pompey era. For example, Pesher Nahum refers to the Romans as Kittim, as it speaks of “Demetrius, king of Yavan [= Greece]” and “the kings of Yavan from Antiochus up to the appearance of the chiefs of the Kittim” (1.2-3). Thus the Kittim of the War Scroll also refer to the Romans, but could possibly be a reference to the Greeks as well.

1. Y. Yadin, The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light, trans. Batya and Chaim Rabin (Ox- ford: Oxford University Press, 1962). 2. For a discussion of the Kittim both within the Bible and without, see Yadin, The War Scroll, 22-26. 3. On the identification of the Kittim with Rome subsequent to late antiquity, see my Sefer Josippon (Jerusalem, 1979), note to chapter 1, line 25.

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It seems to me there are three factors that brought Yadin to the conclusion that the Kittim of the War Scroll are the Romans. First, aside from the War Scroll, the Kittim appear in the Qumran texts only in the Pesharim, and there they regularly refer to the Romans. Second, Yadin finds evidence in the War Scroll that the text was composed subsequently to the Roman conquest of Palestine, but before the end of Herod’s reign.4 To my mind, however, the details in question cannot be counted as conclusive.5 Finally, at 1.4 there appears the phrase “the Kittim in Egypt” which Yadin takes as evidence that the Kittim were located in Egypt at the time: “Not ‘of’,as ‘Kittim of Asshur [= As- syria].’ This shows that the Kittim had an army in Egypt, not that they dwelt there.”6 This suggestion does not exclude the possibility that the Kittim in Egypt were Greek, since the Seleucids and the Ptolemies were Greek. How- ever, if the War Scroll does indicate that the Kittim were located in Egypt, it is more probable that this is a reference to the Romans and that the scroll was composed some time after Pompey’s entrance into Egypt, or perhaps Julius Caesar’s. In any case, whoever these Kittim might be, Yadin’s authoritative interpretation of the passage as indicating that they reside in Egypt has led to a problematic reading of the first column and, subsequently, to implausible reconstructions. The new reconstructions I wish to propose do not in and of themselves constitute a new scholarly approach, as Dupont-Sommer has already employed a similar approach.7 My goal is rather to shed new light on the opening of the War Scroll and in so doing contribute both to the historical background of the scroll and to Jewish apocalypticism as such. Yadin (p. 18) sees the opening of the War Scroll as a parallel of sorts to what today would be called a ‘strategic directive,’ arguing (p. 7) that the first section of 1QM (1.1-7) defines “the opposing forces in the various phases of the war.” According to Yadin, the main stages of the war are as follows: battle against “the band of Edom and of Moab and of the sons of Ammon and... Philistia...whoarebeing helped by the violators of the covenant” (1.1-2); next comes the battle against “the Kittim in Egypt” (1.4), the second stage of the war. After the defeat of the Kittim comes the third stage of the war:8 that is

4. Yadin, War Scroll, 243-246. 5. It is also possible that the minor details on which Yadin bases his argument were inserted into the War Scroll at a later date. C. H. Hunzinger, “Fragmente einer älteren Fassung des Buches Milhama,” ZAW 69 (1957), 131-151 even argues that cave 4 fragments of the War Scroll reflect a pre-sectarian version of the composition. See also the fascinating discussion of 1QM in E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (London, 1977), 248-252. 6. Yadin, War Scroll, 258. 7. A. Dupont-Sommer, Les écrits esséniens (Paris, 1964). 8. “The war against this part of the Kittim is the second phase, preparatory to the fight

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when the warriors “will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North” (1.4), and then conquer all the lands of the world. This, then, is Yadin’s understanding of the first column—a‘strategicdirective’ofsorts.In what follows, I will argue that this text is best understood as presenting the historical background of the eschatological war, as well as a schematic outline of its course leading up to the victory over the Kittim in seven rounds. Here are the two relevant passages from the War Scroll:

1. [The Rule of] the War. The first attack by the sons of light will be launched against the sons of darkness, against the army of Belial, against the band of Edom and of Moab and of the sons of Ammon 2. and...Philistia, and against the bands of the Kittim of Assyria, who are being helped by the violators of the covenant. The sons of Levi, the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin, the exiled of the desert, will wage war against them. 3. [. . .] against all their bands, when the exiled sons of light return from the desert of the nations to camp in the desert of Jerusalem. And after the war, they shall go up from there 4. [against the troops] of the Kittim in Egypt. And in his time, he will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North, and in his anger wants to exterminate and cut off the horn of 5. [Belial]. And this is a time of salvation for the nation of God and a period of rule for all the men of his lot, and of everlasting destruction for all the lot of Belial. There will be 6. great panic among the sons of Japhet, Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end, wickedness having been defeated, with no remnant remaining, and there will be no escape 7. for any of the sons of darkness.

And further along we read:

11....Itwillbeatimeof 12. suffering for all the nation redeemed by God. Of all their sufferings, none will be like this, hastening till eternal redemption is fulfilled.

We have already alluded to the connection between the opening column of the War Scroll and the Book of Daniel. The latter was highly esteemed

against the ‘kings of the north,’ which is part of the ‘war of separate divisions,” Yadin, War Scroll, 258.

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by the Qumran community: the caves contain fragments of eight copies of the book.9 Let us examine the parallel passages in the War Scroll and Daniel:

The War Scroll, Column 1 The Book of Daniel 1-2: the band of Edom and of Moab 11:41 Edom and Moab and the main andofthesonsofAmmonand... part of the Ammonites shall escape Philistia, and against the bands of from his power the Kittim of Assyria, who are being 11:32 violators of the covenant helped by the violators of the covenant 4: the Kittim in Egypt 11:42-43 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall become ruler of . . . the riches of Egypt 4: And in his time, he will go out 11:44 But reports from the east and with great rage to wage war against the north shall alarm him, and he the kings of the North, and in his shall go out with great rage to exter- anger wants to exterminate and cut minate and destroy many off the horn [of Israel] 5-6: There will be great panic among 11:45 He shall pitch his palatial tents the sons of Japhet, Assyria shall fall between the sea and the beautiful and there will be no help for him; holy mountain. Yet he shall come to the rule of the Kittim will come to his end, with no one to help him. an end, wickedness having been defeated 11-12: It will be a time of suffering 12:1 There shall be a time of suffer- for all the nation redeemed by God. ing, such as has never occurred since Of all their sufferings, none will be the nation first came into existence. like this

Two preliminary comments are in order. The War Scroll (lines 1-2) and Daniel both mention Edom, Moab and Ammon in the same order, but the authorof1QMappendsattheendthe“sons...ofPhilistia” and “the Kittim of Assyria.”These nations are also cited — along with other enemies of Israel

9. See G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls (London, 1977), 201.

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— in Psalm 83:7-9: Edom, Moab and Ammon, Philistia and “Assyria also has joined them.” The War Scroll, like Psalm 83, mentions the Philistines and Assyrians at the end of the list, and it is quite possible that this psalm also exerted some influence on the scroll, along with Daniel (see also Isaiah 11:14, and note that Assyria is also mentioned in this chapter). But it seems to me that we are dealing here with more than literary influence, but rather a con- scious attempt on the part of the author to enumerate as enemies all the nations in whose midst lived Jewish communities. True, the Philistines were not a living nation at the time, but the term Philistia appears in this sense in 1 Maccabees (3:41; 4:22; 5:66, 68).10 In both texts the term seems to refer to the gentiles who inhabit the coastline. Daniel 11 also reveals the end of the wicked king in the end of days: “he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.” There is an allusion to this verse in the War Scroll, i.e., in the description of the ultimate defeat of the Kittim (1.6): “Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end.”In this statement, the author of 1QM merges Daniel 11:42 with Isaiah 31:8: “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals.” This same verse is also cited in the War Scroll (11.11- 12), again in an eschatological context. Still later, the War Scroll describes the ultimate death of the Kittim — along with the other nations — at God’s sword (19.9-11). Already in the second line of 1QM the author introduces the “Kittim of Assyria,” which suggests he may have understood Isaiah 31:8, with its description of Assyria and “a sword, not of mortals,” as a reference to the end of the reign of the Kittim. We will return to the nexus between “Kittim” and “Assyria” later in the present study. Other than the formula “violators of the covenant” in line 2, which is found in Daniel 11:32, all the Daniel parallels in the first column of 1QS are from Daniel 11:40 and following, and their order parallels that of Daniel! I believe this fact is of particular importance, not only for understanding the Qumran scroll in question. The Hellenistic philosopher Porphyry, in his (lost) book against the Christians, argued that the visions of Daniel were composed during the days of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), but presented as prophecies of future events.11 Modern scholarship has generally accepted Porphyry’s argument, adding to it an additional assumption: the author of Daniel indeed describes as prophecies events that he knows to have occurred, but starting at 11:40, he breaks with the historical past and attempts to foresee

10. See also R. H. Charles, The Book of Jubilees (London, 1902), 154-155. The book of Jubi- lees (24.28) speaks of the Kittim as the wicked among the nations; Charles believes this is a reference to the Macedonians. See also J. Geffcken, Zwei grieschische Apologeten (Leipzig, 1907; repr. Olms, 1970), 299. 11. See, e.g., J. Geffcken, Zwei griechische Apologeten (Leipzig, 1907; repr. 1970), 299.

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the future — though his prophecies do not come true.12 That the author of the War Scroll seems to have understood that the historical background of the events of the eschaton is described from Daniel 11:40 and following, suggests that modern scholarship is in the right. No less than modern scholars, the author of the 1QM knew that the prophecies recounted up to Daniel 11:39 had already occurred in the days of Antiochus IV, and that what follows has not yet come to fruition. He came to this (correct) conclusion without undue difficulty, since he was not far removed from these historical events, and undoubtedly knew more about them than we. Thus he also knew that the final section of the prophecy had not yet occurred, and, apocalyptic seer that he was, he drew the obvious conclusion: the unfulfilled prophecy — Daniel 11:40 and following — refers to future time. Thus he uses the statements in Daniel 11:40 and following as historical-political background to the eschatological war against the Kittim. That the War Scroll cites its allusions to Daniel in the order of the biblical verses is further proof of Daniel’s key role for the Qumran author. The unfulfilled prophecies of Daniel are the continuation of the prophecy regarding Antiochus IV. There will be another war between him and the king of Egypt, and his campaign will lead him through the Land of Israel, but “Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power.” It would appear that the author of 1QM understands that these people, along with the inhabitants of Philistia, will be allied with this king. Ac- cording to Daniel, the king will then proceed to Egypt and “the Land of Egypt shall not escape,” though “reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great rage to exterminate and destroy many.”In his campaign against these enemies (the War Scroll speaks only of “the kings of the North”) he will again pass through Israel where he “shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.” The Book of Daniel does not report the ultimate fate of the evil king. The author of the War Scroll, however, assumes that he will die in the war of seven rounds against the Jewish Sons of Light; in the seventh round he will be felled by the sword of the Almighty: “Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end.” In sketching the general outline of the parts of Daniel’s prophecy that were not fulfilled in his lifetime, we referred briefly to the War Scroll’s understanding of this prophecy. If we take it as an axiom that the first column of

12. See, e.g., J. A. Montgomery, The Book of Daniel (Edinburgh, 1927), as well as L. F. Hartman and A. A. Di Lella, The Book of Daniel (New York, 1978).

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1QM depends on the content of Daniel 11:40 and following (and not just its language), and that lines 4-7 reflect the prophecy concerning the evil king from the unfulfilled words of Daniel — the task of reconstruction will be eas- ier, and allow us to avoid the problems that arise from Yadin’s suggestions. Moreover, if the opening of the War Scroll is indeed dependent upon Daniel, this will allow for a fuller understanding of the historical and political context — according to 1QM — of the eschatological war. The War Scroll opens with a description of the tribes of Israel who will participate in the war, namely “the sons of Levi, the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin.”As for the enemies, they are “the Band of Edom and Moab and of the sons of Ammon and Philistia.” As we have seen, this list is dependent upon Daniel 11:41, as well as other verses. All these nations, who inhabit the land of Israel, will join “the bands of the Kittim of Assyria, who are being helped by the violators of the covenant.” The “exiled sons of light” then en- camp in “the desert of Jerusalem. And after the war, they shall go up from there.” I propose that this is the end of the sentence — not only because this will allow us to propose a reasonable reconstruction of the opening of line 4. If we maintain the proposed reading, “And after the war, they shall go up from there,”the sense of the statement is that following the battle at the desert of Jerusalem against the Kittim of Assyria, the Sons of Light will ascend to Je- rusalem. This is quite plausible, since the next stage in the warfare is the conquest of the entire world by separate divisions:

During the remaining thirty-three years of the war, the men of renown, those called at the assembly, and all the chiefs of the fathers of the congregation, shall choose for themselves men of war for all the countries of the nations; from all the tribes of Israel they shall equip for themselves intrepid men, in order to go out on campaign according to the directives of war, year after year. (2.6-8)

The assumption that the Sons of Light will ascend to Jerusalem following their war against the Kittim does not in and of itself determine whether Jerusalem is to be conquered by them during that war, or only in its wake. In any case, it appears that the War Scroll (like the other Qumran texts) assumes that Jerusalem is not originally under their rule, but rather is governed by the violators of the covenant who have allied themselves with the Kittim. Thus, the Sons of Light are located not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness of Jerusa- lem — which would suggest that Jerusalem is conquered only after the defeat of the Kittim. Nonetheless, we do not have sufficient grounds to reject the possibility that Jerusalem falls to the Sons of Light in the course of the battles

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against the Kittim, though the community does not enter the city until after the outright defeat of the enemy. In either case there arises a problem, for if the ascent of the Sons of Light to Jerusalem marks the end of the conflict with the Kittim, we must conclude that the author of 1QM deals only with two stages of the war: the pseudo-historical eschatological war against the Kittim — which truly interests him — and a second, utopian war in which the twelve tribes of Israel conquer the entire world during “the remaining thirty-three years of war” (2.6) — a war in which our author shows little interest. After surveying the war in its broader context (in the eyes of the Sons of Light), he turns to the overall political climate of the time, and — drawing on the unfulfilled prophecy of Daniel — describes the circumstances in which the Kittim and their king enter Israel, concluding with an allusion to their ultimate downfall (1.4-7). To my mind, there is no doubt that the king of the Kittim is the central topic, both because of the evident linguistic links to Dan- iel 11:44, and because Yadin’s suggestion that Daniel’s description of the evil king be transposed to the Sons of Light leads to superfluous grammatical difficulties. With this in mind, line 4 should be reconstructed roughly as follows: “Then came the king]13 of the Kittim in [= into] Egypt. And in this time, he will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North, and in his anger wants to exterminate and cut off the horn of [Israel].”]]. The use of ‘Israel’ is suggested by Lamentations 2:3 (“he has cut down in fierce anger the horn of Israel”), though there the subject is the Lord. (Dupont-Sommer suggests ‘wybya vrk’, that is, ‘the horn of his enemies’). The reading ‘to exterminate and cut off the horn of Israel’ is based on Daniel 11:44, where it is reported that the evil king “shall go out with great rage to exterminate and destroy many.” On Yadin’s reading, the extermination in question must be a positive event, and thus he implausibly assumes the phrase refers to the destruction of Belial. As noted, my own reconstruction finds linguistic support in Lamentations 2:3, and it seems to me that the word oyrchl (‘cut down’) — Daniel 11:44 reads fyrjhl (‘exterminate’) instead — is so strong that we must assume that the author of 1QM understood the “many” of Daniel as a reference to Israel. That is, the king sets out “in his time,” departing from Egypt “with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North,” and on his way north quite naturally passes through Israel, where “in his anger [he] wants to exterminate and cut off the horn” of Israel. The assumption that the evil king set out specifically to destroy the horn of Israel finds support in the later statement (1.11-12): “It will be a time of suffering for all the nation redeemed by God. Of all their sufferings, none will be like this, hastening till eternal re-

13. This is how the Dupont-Sommer edition reconstructs.

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demption is fulfilled.”14 While this verse deals with the difficulties brought on by the war, there is also an indirect reference to the dangers of destruction posed by the invasion of the king of the Kittim and his armies. Daniel 11:44 tells of the evil king’s passage from Egypt to Israel, “but reports from the east and the north shall alarm him.” The War Scroll omits any mention of the east, stating that after his departure from Egypt, the king of the Kittim “will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North” (1.4). The mention of these kings is not dependent solely on Daniel, though this is clearly the main source.15 The “kings of the north” are the rulers of Parthia and of Armenia, as well as other traditional enemies of the Seleucid Empire and of their Roman heirs. Before turning to the end of the king of the Kittim, we must point to one conclusion that may already be drawn from the War Scroll’s employment of Daniel’s unfulfilled prophecy. According to Daniel 11:42-43, the evil king will invade Egypt, and indeed the War Scroll mentions Egypt as well (1.4). I have reconstructed this line in light of the remainder of the verse (“he will go out with great rage”), which makes it clear that we are dealing with the evil king from Daniel’s vision. If so, Egypt is the object of the king’s invasion, and it would be an error to read the scroll as stating that the Kittim live in Egypt. Even without the evidence of Daniel it is clear that the War Scroll does not suggest that the Kittim inhabit Egypt. At the same time, 1QM does refer to “the bands of the Kittim of Assyria” (1.2) — what does this phrase mean? Genesis 10:22 lists Assyria as one of the sons of Shem. Accordingly, in describing Israel’s conquest of the entire world, the War Scroll speaks of a war waged “against all the sons of Assyria and Persia, and the eastern nations up to the great desert” (2.12). That is, Assyria appears here in the proper geographic context. According to Genesis 10:4, however, the Kittim are the sons of Japhet, and indeed the author of the War Scroll groups the Kittim of As- syria with the sons of Japhet: “There will be great panic among the sons of Japhet, Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end, wickedness having been defeated” (1.5-6). These groupings are repeated in the summary of the seventh and final stage of the war against the Kittim, which includes “the call of the holy ones when they pursue Assyria; the sons of Japhet shall fall without rising; the Kittim shall be

14. See Yadin’s discussion of this verse in his commentary. And see also D. Flusser, “A New Testament Prophecy Concerning the Liberation of Jerusalem” (Hebrew), Eretz Israel 10 (Zalman Shazar volume) (Jerusalem, 1971), 230-231, and the sources cited therein. 15. The phrase “kings of the north” is influenced by “king of the north” which appears numerous times in Daniel (including the unfulfilled prophecy at 11:40). However, the plural “kings” in the War Scroll suggests that the influence is primarily linguistic.

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crushed” (18.2). Yadin explains the phrase “Kittim of Assyria” and the apparent synonymity of “Assyria” and “Kittim” in a number of places in the War Scroll, since “in at least three places in the Bible in which the Kittim are mentioned, Assyria also is mentioned and in close proximity.”16 But do these three instances of proximity truly explain the War Scroll’s use of “Assyria” as a synonym for “Kittim”? And what of the phrase “Kittim of Assyria”? Perhaps there is a historical reason for this identification. It is a well-established fact that the Greek and Roman authors referred to the Syrians as “Assyrians.” Grintz already suggested17 that “Assyria” in the phrase “Kittim of Assyria” refers to Syria. As evidence he cites, and rightly so, Jubilees 13.1, a work that is very similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the teachings of the dorshei reshumot preserved in Midrash ha-Gadol to Numbers 21:2.18 The midrashic passage discusses the six kingdoms that will reign over Israel — the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Romans. The order of these kingdoms indicates that “Assyria” here refers to the Syrian empire of the Seleucids. Another list, this time of five kingdoms, has been preserved in the writings of Lactantius,19 and is apparently taken from the so- called the “Oracles of Hystaspes” (or: “The Prophecy of Hystaspes”), a Jewish apocalypse from the time of the Second Temple.20 Here we find Egypt, Persia, Greece, Assyria, and Rome, and again it would appear that “Assyria” refers to the Syrian empire of the Seleucids. Syria is referred to as “Assyria” not only in Greek and Roman sources, but in Jewish writings as well — including He- brew ones (Jubilees and the material preserved in Midrash ha-Gadol). It would appear, then, that the War Scroll’s designation of Israel’s primary enemy as “Assyria,” most likely refers to Syria, so that the Kittim of Assyria in fact live in Syria (the biblical verses notwithstanding). This hypothesis finds further support from the fact — noted above — that there is no certain indication in the War Scroll that the Kittim lived in Egypt. To the contrary, it stands to reason that the author of the War Scroll assumed that the king of the Kittim of (As)syria intended to invade Egypt. The term “Assyria,” as a reference to the sworn enemy of Israel, paves the way for the War Scroll to harness the relevant biblical verses to the ultimate, supernatural end of the Kittim and their king. As noted, the author of

16. Yadin, War Scroll, 25. The verses in question are Num. 24:23-24; Isa. 23:12-13; Ezek. 27:6. 17. Y. Grintz, Studies in the Second Temple Period (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1969), 122 n. 39. The entire issue is discussed in Yadin, War Scroll, 25 n. 4. 18. See Midrash Ha-Gadol, M. Margaliyot (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1956), 460. 19. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, 7.15.13. 20. As I have shown in “Hystaspes and John of Patmos,”in my Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 390-453.

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1QM states: “There will be great panic among the sons of Japhet, Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end, wickedness having been defeated” (1.5-6). The phrase “Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him” combines elements from Isaiah 31:8 and Daniel 11:45. In a yet-unfulfilled prophecy — cited as part of the pseudo- historical background of the War Scroll — Daniel describes the king’s departure from Egypt and his ultimate end: “But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him” (Dan. 11:44-45). That is to say, the king will leave Egypt, passing through Israel on his way to battle against his enemies of the east and the north. There he will pitch camp “between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain” and “come to his end, with no one to help him.” The evil king finds his death in the “desert of Jerusalem” (1.3), where the “exiled sons of light” are located, and where they will engage the Kittim armies. However, the evil king will not die during the battle, for Daniel has already stated that he will “come to his end, with no one to help him.”This favors the view of those scholars who understand Daniel’s obscure statement as referring to death brought on by divine intervention, as Daniel 8:25 seems to suggest, where the prophet says that the evil king “shall be broken, and not by human hands.” This appears to be the War Scroll’s understanding of Daniel 11:45, since the scroll describes the end of “Assyria” in the following terms: “he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.” The first hemistich is from Isaiah 31:8: “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals; and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him.” This verse is cited explicitly in the benediction at 11.11-12: “From of old you foretold us the appointed time of the power of your hand against the Kittim saying ‘Assyria will fall by a sword, not of mortals etc.’” If Daniel 11:45 suggests that the king of the Kittim will die a miraculous death due to divine intervention, Isaiah 31:8 teaches that not only the king, but his entire army will be felled “by a sword, not of mortals.”This, then, will be the supernatural conclusion of the war with the Kittim, in its seventh and final round. At that time,21 when the persecution of the Kittim had begun, the sons of light will have to give up the chase “when the sun travels towards its setting on that day” (18.5). They return to camp and “they shall gather in the camp on that night to rest until the morning. And in the morning they shall go out to the place of the battle.”There they witness God’s wondrous intervention: “[T]he heroes of the Kittim, the horde of Assyria and the army of

21. So Yadin, War Scroll, 348-349.

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all the peoples that had gathered together, (to see) the slain...whichhad fallen there by God’s sword” (19.9-11). Indeed, there was an earlier mention of ‘God’s sword’: “All those who are ready for the war shall go and camp opposite the king of the Kittim and opposite all the army of Belial, assembled with him for the day of vengeance by God’s sword” (15.2-3)—aclear allusion to the miraculous end of the battle with the Kittim. This passage is the only extant text of 1QM to contain the phrase ‘king of the Kittim.’(The occurrence at 1.4 is a reconstruction based on the context.) It also states explicitly that both the king and the armies of the Kittim will be destroyed together, as the soldiers are “assembled with him for the day of vengeance by God’s sword.” In both its occurrences, the Hebrew phrase translated as ‘God’s sword’ appears as a single word, labrj, indicating it was an established eschatological term in Qumran circles.22 As an eschatological motif, however, God’s sword has currency beyond the Qumran community. 1 Enoch, a work composed during the days of Judah Maccabee, teaches (1 Enoch 90.19, 34) that in the end of days Israel will be given a great sword that will be wielded as they go to war against the nations. With the battle won, the sword will be returned to the Temple and set before God. This suggests that the sword was previously located (or appeared) in the Temple. A few decades later, the author of the third Sibylline oracle states (lines 781-782) that when peace comes, in the end of days, the prophets of the great God will guard the sword, for they will be the judges of man as well as their righteous kings. And while Enoch has the sword taken from the temple, in the “Oracles of Hystaspes,” another Jewish apocalyptic work from the time of the temple, the sword will suddenly descend from the heavens at midnight on Passover eve. This descent announces to the righteous, that is to Israel, that the messiah, who heads the holy army, will himself descend from the heavens accompanied by angels, with a burning fire before him.23 The apocalyptic motif of God’s sword at the end of days no doubt grew out of Isaiah 31:8: “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals; and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him.” We saw above that this verse is cited in the War Scroll (11.11-12). The author of 1QM, unlike 1 Enoch, learns from the verse that the sword of God, not a human hand, will fell the enemy. The author buttresses this interpretation with the unfulfilled prophecy from Daniel (11:45, and compare 8:25), according to which the evil king “shall come to his end, with no one to help him.”

22. In the 1QHa 14.29 reads: “Then the sword of God will pounce, in the ear of judgment,” and the two words (la brj) are separate. 23. On this motif in medieval Jewish apocalyptic literature see my “Hystaspes and John of Patmos.”

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But let us return to the beginning of the war. I have no doubt that Yadin’s reconstruction of line four of the War Scroll is wrong and, moreover, that a correct understanding of the opening is key to interpreting the scroll as a whole. Yadin (p. 10) rightly points to two passages in the War Scroll from which we may infer the overall structure of the battles against the Kittim. The first occurs in the opening of the scroll, 1.12-14: “And on the day of their war against the Kittim, they shall go out to destruction. In the war, the sons of light will be the strongest during three lots, in order to strike down wickedness; and in three (others), the army of Belial will gird themselves in order to force the lot of light to retreat. There will be infantry battalions to melt the heart, but God’s might will strengthen the heart of the sons of light. And in the seventh lot, God’s great hand will subdue...”This description indicates that there will be seven lots or rounds, the seventh of which will witness the downfall of the Kittim by the hand of God, without human warfare. The end of the Kittim is couched here in terms reminiscent of the destruction without battle of the Egyptians at the crossing of the Red Sea, when “Israel saw the great hand that the Lord brought against the Egyptians” (Ex. 14:31). As for the previous six rounds of battle, these are described elsewhere, i.e., 17.16–18.3. The sons of light find themselves alternately victors and vanquished, but again the seventh lot brings ultimate victory, “when the mighty hand of God is raised against Belial and against all the army of his dominion for an everlasting blow” (18.1). The series of battles with the Kittim is relatively clear. However, as seen above, a novel interpretation of the scroll’s opening calls for a new understanding of the precise relationship between the Kittim war and the subsequent conquest of the world. If 1.4 refers to the Kittim’s invasion of Egypt — and not, as Yadin holds, to the war of the sons of light against the Kittim of Egypt — then it is no longer possible to speak of this as “the second phase, preparatory to the fight against the ‘kings of the north,’ which is part of the ‘war of separate divisions’” — a war of conquest. In fact, there are only two stages or, more accurately, two wars: the seven lots of war fought against the Kittim, and the war of separate divisions that begins after God’s sword has destroyed the Kittim. The latter begins when the “exiled sons of light” march from the wilderness of Jerusalem to the city itself (see 1.3). There is another important difference between the first war (against the Kittim in the wilderness of Jerusalem), and the ‘war of separate divisions’ for world domination. The battle against the Kittim and their allies will be waged by the “sons of Levi, the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin, the exiled of the desert” (1.2) — apparently a reference to the sons of light; in the ‘year of release’ (shemitah) following the Kittim war, “the chiefs of the tribes, and after them

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the fathers of the congregation, shall take their positions in the gate of the sanctuary in perpetuity” (2.3). As for the conquest of the world — slated to begin after that year of release — we learn: “During the remaining thirty- three years of the war, the men of renown, those called at the assembly, and all the chiefs of the fathers of the congregation, shall choose for themselves men of war for all the countries of the nations; from all the tribes of Israel they shall equip for themselves intrepid men, in order to go out on campaign...” (2.6-8). Clearly, the author of the War Scroll believes that after the Kittim war, perhaps in the beginning of the first year of release, the remaining tribes of Is- rael will return as functioning members of the nation already in the course of that year. Perhaps there was a reference to the ingathering of the tribes of Is- rael in the now lost end of the first column. As for the division of the different stages into clusters of years, Yadin’s discussion and calculations (pp. 20-21, as well as 36-37) are a brilliant scholarly achievement. The war will last forty years, the first six of which are fought against the Kittim. As noted, Yadin divides the latter period into two stages: the first against the Kittim of Assyria, followed by battle against the Kittim of Egypt. However, it appears that this six-year period constitutes a single stage in the war during which the sons of light do battle against the Kittim and their evil king in the wilderness of Jerusalem. The scroll suggests that the battle against the Kittim will begin in a year following a year of release, shemitah. If so, the year of release mentioned in the second column is the first to follow the destruction of the Kittim and their king by God’s sword. After the first seven- year period, during “the remaining thirty-three years of the war” (2.6) Israel will conquer the world, with each enemy requiring a single year of battle — except for the sons of Arpachshad, who are battled for two years, the fourth and the fifth (2.11). We have already established that the Kittim war will occur during the first six years of the first shemitah cycle, and that it will contain seven lots or rounds. During the first six, Israel will experience intermittently victory and defeat, but during the seventh lot the Kittim and their allies will be destroyed through divine intervention, the sword of God. All this suggests that each of the first six rounds is allotted a single year, each of which contains a single decisive battle. The sixth year is, apparently, exceptional inasmuch as that at its end there will be a second, ultimate and supernatural battle. Were it not for the fact that the end of the scroll speaks of the sons of light girding themselves for battle and of their surprise in the face of the miracle, it might have been assumed that the divine intervention will occur in the seventh, i.e., shemitah, year. However, wars are generally not permitted during shemitah, so it appears that the battle could occur in the seventh year only if the sectarian halakhah would allow warfare during the shemitah in cases of a religiously

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sanctioned war — very unlikely in light of their generally strict halakhic rulings. Thus it is more probable that the seventh stage of the Kittim war is to occur at the very end of the sixth year. Moreover, the ultimate and absolute victory over the Kittim, achieved as it is through divine intervention, represents a worthy opening to the year of release. That said, our discussion of the timeline of the Kittim war and of the ingathering of the tribes of Israel, remains a con- jecture, albeit one that suits the schematic and almost mechanistic schematics of the Dead Sea community. Before concluding our discussion we must ask what, if anything, can be learned regarding the time of the War Scroll’s composition. We saw that the political situation, a prerequisite for the Kittim war, accords with the unfulfilled prophecy of Daniel, that is, that Daniel’s vision was made to fit with the hopes and fears of Second Temple Jewry in general, and of the Qumran community in particular. As noted, the word “Kittim” could refer either to Greeks or to Romans, and it was plausible in the eyes of 1QM’s author that the Kittim king be located in Syria, from which he would invade Egypt. But he will leave Egypt, for “in his time, he will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North” (1.4), i.e., the Parthians and their allies. In traversing this path, he will cross through Israel, seeking “in his anger” to destroy the Jews. Such is the hypothetical political situation preceding the eschatological war with the Kittim. If we assume that the War Scroll was composed after the Romans conquered Syria, but before they conquered Egypt, then the identification of the Kittim as Romans is quite plausible. If, however, the phrase “Kittim of Assyria” (1.2) and the verse “Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for him; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end” (1.6) suggest a stronger link between the Kittim and Syria, then the Kittim of Assyria would be the Syrian Greeks and their king one of the Seleucid rulers, suggesting that the scroll was composed before Pompey annexed Syria to the Roman empire. The date of composition would be some time during the Hasmonean rule prior to 83 b.c.e., when Tigranes II of Armenia conquered Syria, ending the Seleucid rule. During the Seleucid rule it was the north that presented the danger, the Parthian regions, and there was a constant enmity between the Syrian Seleucids and the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. It is possible, then, that during a period of particularly elevated tension between the two kingdoms, the author of 1QM might well prophesy that Daniel’s vision is near fulfillment, and the Kittim king will invade Egypt.24 The phrase “king of the Kittim” also sug-

24. In “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview” I dated the War Scroll to the time of Alex- ander Jannaeus, when a civil war raged, and the sect may have hoped to seize political power by force. The opening paragraph of 1QM (1.1-7) serves to describe the political situation that will

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gests a Seleucid era composition, since the scrolls published thus far speak of the Roman leaders as “rulers of the Kittim (fyoc ylqwm),” rather than kings.25 In any case, whether we identify the Kittim as Romans or as Syrian Greeks, it appears that the scroll was composed prior to the Roman annex- ation of Egypt. In an earlier study, I tried to trace the chronological development of the Qumran ideology.26 I suggested that the War Scroll was composed in the early stages of the sect. In presenting our concluding statement, it is worth citing the principal statement from the opening of the War Scroll, as I reconstruct the text:

The first attack by the sons of light will be launched against the lot of the sons of darkness, against the army of Belial, against the band of Edo and of Moab and of the sons of Ammon and the a[rmies of the inhabitants of] Philistia, and against the bands of the Kittim of Assyria, who are being helped by the violators of the covenant. The sons of Levi, the sons of Ju- dah and the sons of Benjamin, the exiled of the desert, will wage war against them [. . .] against all their bands, when the exiled sons of light return from the desert of the nations to camp in the desert of Jerusalem. And after the war, they shall go up from there. [And the king] of the Kittim [will come to] Egypt. And in his time he will go out with great rage to wage war against the kings of the North, and in his anger wants to exterminate and cut off the horn of Israel....Therewillbegreatpanic among the sons of Japhet, Assyria shall fall and there will be no help for them; the rule of the Kittim will come to an end, wickedness having been defeated, with no remnant remaining, and there will be no escape for any of the sons of darkness. (1.1-7)

Yadin’s error is, I believe, fundamentally optical: since the beginning of line 4 is not extant, the first Hebrew words that present themselves to the reader’s eye are fyrxmb fyoch, which can naturally be understood as referring to Kittim who reside in Egypt. The first scholar who made this assump-

precede the outbreak of the apocalyptic battle. Though the text of this paragraph is tattered and incomplete, I believe it reflects the political reality of 89 b.c.e., the invasion of Demetrius III (Eucaerus), with the support of the “violators of the covenant” (1.2), i.e., the Pharisees. Since the publication of the article, my hypothesis concerning the negative view the Qumran sect took of the alliance between Demetrius and the Pharisees was proven correct. I am referring to the statement in Pesher Nahum (1.2) concerning “Demetrius, king of Yavan, who wanted to enter Jerusalem on the advice of those looking for easy interpretations [dorshei halakot].” 25. See Yadin’s comment regarding the king of the Kittim at 15.2, that “from 44 b.c. on- wards Caesar was to all intents and purposes a king” (p. 331). 26. In “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview.”

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tion was E. L. Sukenik,27 and Yadin, his son, follows in his footsteps. This error was then compounded with an implausible reconstruction of the beginning of the line, forcing Yadin to argue that the subject of “And in his time he will go out with great rage” is either the sons of light or God Himself. In fact, this is almost a verbatim repetition of Daniel 11:44, whose subject is the evil king of the end of days. Yadin’s error changed the original opening of the scroll, which is nothing more than an attempt to apply the unfulfilled prophecy of Daniel to contemporary times. We have been able to address a number of aspects of the War Scroll, to resolve a few difficulties and raise hypotheses regarding the eschatological vision of the Qumran community. It appears that if we gain a better understanding of the first column, we may gain meaningful insights into the essence of Jewish apocalypticism. The author of Daniel gave an account of past events as though they were to occur in the future, but when he needed to predict future events he fabricated them full cloth. Modern scholars are not the only ones who have been able to ascertain the difference between the historical “prophecies” and unfulfilled predictions — the author of the War Scroll distinguished between these two categories as well. This is apparently the reason he took Daniel’s unfulfilled prophecy to be a reference to the backdrop for the eschaton. This shift was possible, because the political situation of his day reminded him of the visions of Daniel. In other words, the eschatological vision of the War Scroll is predicated on an actualizing interpretation of Daniel’s unfulfilled prophecy. The author rightly understood that the obscure verse from Daniel means that the evil king will die as a result of divine intervention, and it is this understanding that guides the War Scroll’s interpretation of Isaiah 31:8: “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals; and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him.” It is likely that this verse generated a Jewish apocalyptic motif that has the wicked enemies of Israel falling before God’s sword in the end of days. But while some interpreters held that Israel will be given the sword of God and use it in their battles, the War Scroll interpreted this motif in light of Daniel’s vision. That is, the Kittim and their king will be killed by God’s sword without human intervention. Then will the mighty hand of God be revealed, just as at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, and so the ultimate redemption will be like the first.

27. He writes: “I consider the phrases ‘the Kittim of Assyria’ and ‘the Kittim of Egypt’ the terminus post quem of the War Scroll. These are, in my opinion, references to the Ptolemies and the Seleucids ...,”Otsar ha-Megilot ha-Genuzot, E. Sukenik (ed.) (Jerusalem, 1954), 31-32, n. 14. If so, Sukenik identifies the Kittim as Greeks, while Yadin sees them as Romans.

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It is fairly clear, then, how and why the Dead Sea community incorporated into its eschatological and redemptive vision both the prophecy of Dan- iel and the motif of God’s sword. The motif of seven lots or rounds in the Kittim war is another utopian motif added to the two just discussed. I know of only one parallel to it, namely in the apocalypse known as the “Oracles of Hystaspes.”28 According to this account, on Passover eve at midnight, a sword will descend from the heavens, followed by the Messiah accompanied by angels, and they will wage war against all the armies of the evil king. The armies will be defeated, but the king will escape and renew the war several times until finally he too will be defeated in the fourth battle and taken captive. Then he and all his armies will stand in judgment before the Messiah-King for their crimes. In this text, then, we find a preliminary victory for Israel, followed by four additional rounds, or five in total. It stands to reason that in the “Oracles of Hystaspes” the rounds ended alternately in victory and defeat for Israel.29 According to both Hystaspes and the War Scroll, then, there will be an odd number of rounds (five and seven, respectively) and Israel will be victorious in the first — thus ensuring Israel’s ultimate victory. But we do not yet have a full picture of the eschatological vision of the War Scroll, as the Kittim war is only the first stage in a forty-year conflict. It appears that it will commence in the first year of the shemitah cycle, and the first six battles will occur in intervals of one year, up until the final divine intervention that will occur near the first shemitah year of the war.30 During that same shemitah year all twelve tribes will apparently gather in Israel, and with the passing of the year the tribes will establish Jerusalem as their base

28. See the discussion in “Hystaspes and John of Patmos.” 29. In the epitome of the “Oracles of Hystaspes” found in Lactantius, we are told that after the victory of the righteous “deletisque omnibus copiis impius solus effugiet...etvictus effugiet et bellum saepe renovabit et saepe vincetur, donec quarto proelio confectis omnibus impiis et captus tandem scelerum suorum luat poenas.” 30. The eschatological pattern of seven-year cycles — from the end of the first shemitah year to the beginning of the next — is not unique to the War Scroll or the Qumran texts more broadly, as Yadin rightly indicated (see p. 37, nn. 1, 3). The sages too know of seven years of hard- ship followed by eschatological redemption. Thus, b. Sanhedrin 97a: “in the fifth great plenty, when men will eat, drink and rejoice, and the Torah will return to its disciples; in the sixth [heavenly] sounds; in the seventh, wars and at the conclusion of the seven-year cycle the son of David will come.”And in b. Megillah 17b we find the following explanation for why the benediction of redemption is the seventh of the eighteen benedictions: “What was their reason for mentioning redemption in the seventh blessing? Raba [MSS read: Hiya bar Abba] replied: Be- cause Israel are destined to be redeemed in the seventh year, therefore the mention of redemption was placed in the seventh blessing.” Thus we find that the sages too counted the seven eschatological years from the year following the shemitah.

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and wage the war of separate divisions from it, eventually conquering the entire world. The War Scroll seems to be building on a sophisticated eschatological doctrine. Despite all the contemporary scholarship on this topic, and despite the similar phenomena in our own day, it is not easy to understand the minds of apocalyptic authors, especially with regard to their systematic constructs — completely groundless — that they believe will come to be realized. And it is that much more difficult when it comes to certain of the Qumran texts, such as the War Scroll: not only did they believe their fantastic plans would come to fruition, they allotted themselves a central and active role in effecting a chain of events that they themselves fabricated. In order to convince his readers that these are not mere fantasies, the author of the War Scroll added to his schematic plan detailed discussions on the laws of war, tactics, liturgical rules, and more. Indeed, these make up most of the scroll. In this, the War Scroll is similar to the descriptions of Jerusalem in the end of days and to the Temple Scroll — while the purely apocalyptic elements are marginalized. Reading the War Scroll, one cannot help but wonder if the author assumed the readers’ familiarity with the broad outlines of the eschatological scheme, thus allowing him to touch on them only briefly, and sometimes, perhaps, not at all. This style makes it difficult for today’s scholars to extract from the War Scroll a clear picture of its redemptive schema, and, as shown, some of the details remain obscure. Are we to assume that the War Scroll was based in part on an apocalyptic text from Qumran that focused exclusively on the events and the structure of the end of days, and that this was the starting point of our text? But even if we assume that the apocalyptic framework predates the War Scroll, it is nonetheless clear that the author of the scroll enriched and reworked the material according to his taste and to his understanding. In any case, the apocalyptic elements in the War Scroll constitute a fascinating and important link in the ongoing chain of Jewish apocalyptic thought. It is important to address the schematic dimension of the text — one that has nothing to do with Realpolitik — in trying to categorize the War Scroll of Qumran.

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12. The Death of the Wicked King

Jacob Licht, in memoriam

One of Jacob Licht’s fields of expertise was, of course, the Dead Sea Scrolls. Any scholar who approaches these texts faces two main obstacles: our knowledge of the sect’s history is in most cases sketchy and wanting, and even the well-preserved scrolls usually contain lacunae, to say nothing of the many fragments that have reached us, which are notoriously difficult to decipher. The present study deals with a group of such fragments, in light of the para- mount importance of one of them.1 The fragments are of what scholars refer to as the “War Rule,”marked as 4Q285. The content is very similar to the “War Scroll” (1QM); that much is clear. There is also reason to believe that the War Scroll fragments may originally have been the sectarian continuation of 1QM, but that they were not preserved in the main copy because they deal with the final stage of the war of the sons of light against the evil kingdom — a part not covered by the “whole” scroll. The following fragment is of particular importance:

[. . . as] the Prophet Isaiah said (10:34-11:1): “He will hack down the thick- ets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon by a majestic one will fall. A

1. The fragments of the War Scroll were published in Ben Zion Wacholder and M. G. Abegg, A Preliminary Edition of the Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls, Fascicle 2 (Washington, D.C., 1992), 223-227, and see also the discussion at p. xv. The relevant fragment (4Q285) is also discussed in G. Vermes, “The Oxford Forum for Qumran Research Seminar of the Rule of War from Cave 4 (4Q285),” JJS 43 (1992), 85-95; B. Nitzan, “Benedictions and Instructions from Qumran for the Eschatological Community (11Qber, 4Q285),” RQ 16 (1993), 77-90. I have discussed the War Scroll in “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll,” in the present volume.

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shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse [. . .] the bud of David. And they will judge [. . .] and the Prince of Congregation will kill him [. . .] and with wound. And the High Priest will command [. . .] the slain of the Kittim. (4Q285, fragment 5)

The Jewish apocalyptic texts we will cite below show just how incorrect it is to suppose that this fragment deals with the death of the messiah. It is clear that the evil ruler will be judged and executed by the prince of the congregation, that is, the messiah who is born of the Davidic line. The other fragments shed some light on the circumstances of this trial. We learn that prior to the trial the king is brought before the prince of the congregation where he will be judged, a procedure that follows some sort of naval war, in which the prince of the congregation plays a major role. The enemies — the Kittim of the War Scroll — will flee before Israel. Will the Kittim drown in the sea? No definitive answer can be given, but it is nonetheless clear that there is some link between the narrative of the War Rule and the biblical death of the Egyp- tians at the Red Sea. If so, the identity of the judge is known, and as for the identity of the man to be judged and executed, he is most likely the king of the Kittim. The problem is that we know nothing of his character or his role in the eschatological drama. He is mentioned explicitly only once in the War Scroll (15.2), and according to my reconstruction he is mentioned a second time in the opening of the scroll (1.4), a reconstruction that is almost definite.2 The opening of the scroll indicates that the king of the Kittim will fulfill the role of the evil king mentioned in Daniel 11:40.3 The downfall of this king is described by Daniel as follows: “He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him” — a description sorely lacking in details. The scroll does not describe the chief of the armies of evil in terms of his involvement in the fighting, an omission that is, to be sure, somewhat odd. However, in considering the overall character of the composition, we may see this omission as part and parcel of the marginalization of the purely eschatological elements. The reader of the War Scroll cannot but wonder if its author assumes that his audience is familiar with the basic eschatological stages, and thus there is no need to elaborate, or even dwell on them. Is it possible that one of the War

2. This is the conclusion of a recently published fragment from the War Scroll (4Q496), and see DJD VII (Oxford, 1982), 58. This fragment demonstrates that I was correct in suggesting ‘Israel’ at the opening of 1.5 (rather than ‘Belial’), and it follows that line 4 refers to the king of the Kittim. 3. See my discussion in “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.”

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Scroll’s sources was an apocalyptic sectarian composition that dealt solely with the nature and order of the eschatological events, and that this was, in fact, the starting point of the War Scroll?4 Whether or not this is the case, the new fragments help fill in a number of lacunas regarding the death of this evil leader, as well as elements that shed new light on the events of the War Scroll — particularly once we read the War Rule in light of the various Jewish apocalyptic traditions. However, before we turn to this task, we must address the sectarian author’s interpretation of Isaiah 10:34–11:1. Isaiah 10:34 speaks of ‘the Lebanon,’a term whose typological significance in Jewish sources has been recognized by scholars.5 What of the Qumran writings? Pesher Habakkuk (11.17–12.6),6 which discusses Habakkuk 2:17, cannot be directly adduced for the matter at hand, since ‘Lebanon’ appears there (12.3-4) in a positive light: “Lebanon is the Council of the Community.” On the other hand, it is clear that Pesher Nahum does contain a relevant passage, namely 2.1-8.7 Unfortunately, the condition of the text will not allow any definitive conclusions. It has already been established that the Kittim in Pesher Nahum are the Romans. One part of the composition — the relevant part to our discussion — is a sectarian interpretation to Nahum 1:3-4, dealing with God’s will to “carry out judgment against them and eliminate them from the face of the earth” (1.4-5), and there is no doubt that the author understood the biblical phrase “the bloom of Leb- anon” in the same negative sense. Another Qumran passage (4Q161)—asec- tarian interpretation of Isaiah 10:33-34 — may also be relevant (i.e., 3.1-13),8 but here again the text is poorly preserved.9 This fragment interprets the same verse in Isaiah that we find in the fragment of the War Rule under discussion. In Pesher Isaiah (4Q161) there is a clear connection between the Kittim and Lebanon: the Kittim will “be placed in the hands of Israel” (1.3); there are also references to “the soldiers of the Kittim” and “the war of the Kittim.” Of particular significance is the statement that “‘and Lebanon by a

4. See the discussion in my “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.” 5. See G. Vermes, Scripture and Tradition in Judaism (Leiden, 1973), 26-39; W. Backer, Die Agada der Tannaiten (Strasbourg, 1903), 1.23, and n. 2; Vermes, “The Oxford Forum,” 89, 92-93; Nitzan, “Benedictions and Instructions,” 43, n. 44. 6. See Nitzan, The Pesher Habakkuk Scroll (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1986), 194-195. 7. See the discussion in Horgan, Pesharim, 46, 168-170; J. Strugnell, “Notes en marge du volume V,” RQ 26 (1970), 204-207. 8. The text appears in Horgan, Pesharim, 17-18, and is discussed at 82-85. 9. J. D. Amusin, “The Reflections of Historical Events,” HUCA 48 (1977), 124-134, suggests that when this pesher speaks of the Valley of Acre (at 2.27, interpreting Isaiah 10:32), it alludes to the invasion of Ptolemy Lathyrus.

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majestic one will fall,’ they are the commanders of the Kittim, who will be placed in the hand of great ones . . .” (3.7-8), though the rest of the pesher to Isaiah 10:33 did not survive. The orthographic conventions of the scrolls allow for a reading of the last Hebrew word as wylwdg, ‘great ones’; however, the singular form, wlwdg, ‘a great one,’ precisely glosses the words of the prophet: “and Lebanon by a majestic one will fall.” Here the majestic one is the shoot of David, the Messiah. As we will see, the War Rule interprets Isaiah 10:34–11:1 to similar effect. Like Pesher Isaiah (4Q161), the War Rule (4Q285) discusses the end of Isaiah 10 and the opening verse of 11, interpreting messianic prophecy of the latter as a continuation of chapter 10. Thus, if Isaiah 10:34 states that “the Leb- anon by a majestic one will fall,” the prophet’s words indicate that the prince of the congregation, the shoot of David, will kill the wicked one, who is undoubtedly the king of the Kittim.10 First, the prince of the congregation participates (as a general?) in the naval battle, at the end of which the enemies “will flee from Israel.” The wicked one, however, is caught and “they shall bring him before the Prince of the Congregation” (4Q285, fragment 4), where he is judged and executed. The Pesher Isaiah fragment too refers to the wicked king’s “. . . flight before Israel” (4Q161 3.9), and this may be a reference to the flight of the king of the Kittim. The fragments of the War Rule are few and do not provide a clear picture of the naval battle,11 nor of the execution of the king’s death sentence. It is possible, however, that two other apocalyptic texts do provide additional details concerning the end of the ultimate war against the armies of evil. Did the remnants of the War Rule once belong to the end of the War Scroll, now lost, or perhaps they originate in another composition that covers the same material? Though no definitive answer is possible at this time, it is undoubtedly significant that not one of the details discussed in the War Scroll conflicts in any way with the views expressed in the fragmentary remains of the War Rule. I once suggested, in light of Daniel 11:45, that the evil king will ultimately be killed with his armies: “Assyria shall fall and there shall be no help for it” (1QM 1.6).12 True, it would be reasonable to assume that the king of the Kittim would also be killed on this occasion, but that part of the narrative was lost, along with all the concluding section of the War Scroll.13 Ac- cording to 1QM, the enemies of Israel will be completely annihilated, appar-

10. Incidentally, we find here the same negative sense of ‘Lebanon’ — the wicked from among the gentiles — that we find elsewhere. 11. Who is the subject of 4Q285 (fragment 4), “they shall return to dry land”? 12. See “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.” 13. See Yadin, The War Scroll, 13.

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ently based on Daniel 11:45, which tells the following of the evil king: “He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.” How exactly all this is to come about, however, remains unclear. The War Scroll states: “From of old you foretold us the appointed time of the power of your hand against the Kittim, saying ‘Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals’” (11.11-12). Apparently the author held that this prophecy will come to fruition in its most literal sense, i.e., that the enemy will come to a supernatural end by God’s sword, though even here we are lacking information on the death of the king of the Kittim. There is no doubt that the description of Israel’s enemies coming to an unnatural end was influenced by the story of Sennacherib’s army’s defeat,14 though it should be noted that here too Sennacherib himself survives. The publication of the War Rule fragments suggests that the ultimate destruction of the armies of the Kittim may also be related to the drowning of the Egyp- tians in the Red Sea.15 When the armies of the Kittim are destroyed, then the words of Scripture will be fulfilled: “Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians” (Ex. 14:31), and the final redemption will be like unto the first. All this will happen in the seventh round of battles, “And in the seventh lot, God’s great hand will subdue Belial and all the angels of his dominion and all the men of his lot” (1QM 1.14) by supernatural means. It is during the seventh lot, that “the mighty hand of God is raised against Belial and against all the army of his dominion for an everlasting blow...thesons of Japhet shall fall without rising; the Kittim shall be crushed without [remain]...whenthehand of the God of Israel is raised against the whole horde of Belial” (1QM 18.1-3). The newly published fragments clarify that the allusion to Exodus 14 is no literary flourish. The War Scroll states that the seventh round of battle will see Israel chasing after the Kittim, but the sons of light will have to give up the chase “when the sun travels toward its setting on that day” (18.5). Instead, they will return to their camp, “on that night to rest until the morning. And in the morning they shall go out to the place of the line” where they will see God’s miraculous intervention, as “the heroes of the Kittim, the horde of Assyria and the army of all the peoples that had gathered together, (to see) whether the slain...hadfallentherebyGod’ssword”(1QM 19.9-11).16 How, then, will the words of Exodus 14 be fulfilled — “Israel saw

14. See Yadin, The War Scroll, 25. The miracle of Sennacherib’s defeat is also mentioned in 1 Macc. 7.41; 2 Macc. 8.19; 15.22; 3 Macc. 6.5. 15. As I noted in “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.” 16. See my “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.”

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the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians” (Ex. 14:30-31)? Now it becomes clear that in the final redemption as well the sea plays an important role (though of course not the Red Sea).17 The dearth of texts on this matter makes it impossible to determine whether the “naval” stage occurs before or after the death of the Kittim by God’s sword, or perhaps it is one and the same, and Israel will again see their enemies “dead on the seashore.”In any event, the Prince of the Con- gregation, the Messiah from the lineage of David, plays a decisive role here: he will come “as far as the great sea”; then the enemy forces “will flee from Israel” (fragment 4).18 In all probability the next statement, “they shall return to dry land,” refers to Israel. Then the fleeing wicked king will be seized and “they shall bring him before the Prince of the Congregation.” He will be judged “and the Prince of the Congregation will kill him.” The fact that the king escapes the wrathful events does not detract from the parallel with Egypt, as there are those that hold that Pharaoh did not die in the Red Sea.19 The discussion thus far suggests that the few extant fragments from the War Rule continue the narrative of the War Scroll, recounting the events of the part of 1QM that did not survive. The details of these events remain unclear, but we can reconstruct them to a certain extent using two other Jewish apocalyptic works that have preserved the same tradition concerning the eschatological end of the wicked king. The first is the (Syriac) Apocalypse of Baruch.20 It is possible that one of the roots of the apocalyptic tradition preserved in this text reaches back to an interpretation of Isaiah 10:34, in which “Lebanon by a majestic one will fall” is understood as a reference to the victory of Israel’s messiah over the wicked king.21 Chapter 36 recounts the vision of the forest, which is said to be swept away by a fountain (which is identified

17. To what extent is all this connected to 4Q161 (2.23): “from the plain of Akko”? See the discussion in Amusin, “The Reflection of Historical Events.” 18. Perhaps Pesher Isaiah (4Q161) refers to this: “in his flight before Israel” (3.9). 19. See also the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael (Horovitz-Rabin ed., 111 and the note to line 13); Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (Philadelphia, 1946), 2.29-30, and 6.10, n. 54. 20. See “2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch,” translated by A. F. J. Klijn, in The Old Testa- ment Pseudepigrapha, ed. J. H. Charlesworth (New York, 1983), 1.615-652. 21. On this tradition, which predates the Apocalypse of Baruch, and on the connection between the Lebanon and the wicked from among the gentiles, see P. Bogart, Apocalypse de Baruch (Paris, 1969), 1.84-86. The apocalypse ties the symbolic spring in the forest vision (36.3- 5) with the kingdom of the messiah, an interpretive move found also in the apocryphal Apoca- lypse of Mordechai (in the opening of the Greek translation of Esther). I have already noted that the Apocalypse of Mordechai may have originally appeared as the opening of the Oracles of Hystaspes. See D. Flusser, “Hystaspes and John of Patmos,” Judaism and the Origins of Christian- ity, 394-396.

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as the messianic kingdom in 39.7), with only one cedar remaining. But ultimately this cedar too will be consumed by fire. Chapter 40 explores the symbolic meaning of this cedar, which is as follows:

The last ruler who is left alive at that time will be bound, whereas the entire host will be destroyed. And they will carry him on Mount Zion, and my Anointed One will convict him of all his wicked deeds, and will assemble and set before him all the works of his hosts. And after these things he will kill him.

It is clear that the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch preserves the same story as we find in the small fragments of the War Rule: following the destruction of his armies in the end of days, the wicked king manages to escape, but is ultimately brought before the messiah of Israel, who tries him and sentences him to death. Before turning to the second apocalyptic source, another examination of the War Scroll’s description may be in order. As noted,22 in the final round of the Kittim war, they come to a supernatural end: “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword, not of mortals.”The armies of the sons of light witness God’s miraculous intervention: “the heroes of the Kittim, the horde of Assyria and the army of all the peoples that had gathered together, (to see) whether the slain . . . had fallen there by God’s sword” (1QM 19.9-11). The special orthography of ‘God’s sword’ — written as a single Hebrew word, labrj — suggests we are dealing with a mythological object.23 According to the War Scroll, God’s sword will act on its own; in Jewish apocalyptic sources outside of Qumran, the sword is wielded by Israel. 1 Enoch, which was written in the days of Judah Maccabee, teaches that in the end of days Israel will be given a great sword, which they will use in their battles against the nations; the sword will then be returned to the Temple (1 Enoch 90.34). The third book of the Sibylline Ora- cles (781-782) tells that the prophets will be entrusted with the sword when eternal peace reigns. Of particular importance is the account in the Oracles of Hystaspes,24 which discusses the sword within a context that is much closer to the narrative in the War Rule than is the Apocalypse of Baruch. The Oracles of Hystaspes is a Jewish apocalyptic work whose hero is, supposedly, a prominent figure in the Persian religious tradition. It was composed prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, at some point after

22. See my discussion in “Apocalyptic Elements in the War Scroll.” 23. The War Scroll also mentions God’s sword at 15.2-3, while Hodayot 14.29 reads: “Then the sword of God will pounce in the era of judgment.” 24. See my discussion in “Hystaspes and John of Patmos,” 390-453.

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the establishment of the Maccabean dynasty, as the influence of the Book of Daniel is apparent. In his Divinae Institutiones, the church father Lactantius provides a detailed analysis of the oracles of Hystaspes (Book VII, from the end of chapter 15 through chapter 19).25 Here we find a description of a sword descending from heaven at midnight on Passover eve. This serves to announce to the righteous, that is, Israel, that the messiah is soon to arrive and lead the holy armies — descending accompanied by angels and before him a flaming sword. Lactantius’ survey does not fully clarify what role the sword will play in destroying the armies of wickedness. It is clear, however, that just like the War Rule (and 2 Baruch 40.1), Hystaspes prophesies that the wicked king will survive the destruction of his armies, but will lose all his power.26 According to all three sources, he will be captured and brought before the messiah, who will “convict him of his wicked deeds...andkill him.”27 Both the Oracles of Hystaspes and 2 Baruch describe the messiah’s rebuke of the imprisoned king, an element that is not found in the extant fragments of the Qumran War Rule. And none of the sources speak of the manner in which the king is executed. Lactantius’ Epitome, however, states that the wicked king will be burned along with his fellow criminals, though this may be the product of the author’s imagination.28 It is also possible that the Epitome is influenced by the Apocalypse of John 19:19-21.29 I have shown elsewhere that one of the sources of the Apocalypse of John is the Oracles of Hystaspes.30 In that study, I assumed that the author of the Apocalypse of John received the figure of the false prophet from the Jewish text. But now we find that according to the Apocalypse of John, the kings of the land and their armies gather to fight against the messiah and his army, but “the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet...[and] these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were killed...”

25. The passage that bears directly on our discussion is at VII 19.2-8; and 67.1-2, in the Epitome. See also “Hystaspes and John of Patmos,” 430-433. 26. Deletisque omnibus copiis inpius solus effugiet et peribit ab eo virtus sua (Lactantius, VII, 18.5). 27. 2 Baruch 40.1-2, and compare also his dream at 36.7-11. See also Lactantius VII, 18.5: “sed et ceteri principes ac tyranni, qui contriverunt orbem, simul cum eo vincti adducentur ad regem, et increpabit eos et coarguet et exprobrabit iis facinora ipsorum et damnabit eos ac meritis cruciatibus tradet.” Compare also 4 Ezra 13.37-38. 28. Epitome, 67.1. 29. Unlike the Institutiones, Lactantius’ Epitome was composed at a later period and is influenced by the Apocalypse of John. 2 Baruch (chapter 37) dreams that the cedar — which symbolizes the wicked king — is consumed by fire; however this may not be significant since it is only natural for a tree that comes to a bad end to be burned. 30. See “Hystaspes and John of Patmos.”

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(Rev 19:19-21). If this is another reflection of the Oracles of Hystaspes, it would provide additional support to the notion that these oracles described the wicked king’s execution by fire. More important still is the fact that the Qumran writings, 2 Baruch, and the Oracles of Hystaspes all recount that the armies of the wicked king will be destroyed and only then will he be captured, brought before the messiah- king, tried and executed. It is unclear what verses (or other considerations) contributed to the formation of this ancient apocalyptic tradition. Another striking similarity is the appearance of God’s sword in both the Qumran War Scroll and the Oracles of Hystaspes — albeit in a different sense. Another striking affinity between the War Scroll and the Oracles of Hystaspes involves the order of events.31 The oracles teach that, following the destruction of his armies, the wicked king will escape and renew the war. Af- ter several rounds of fighting, he will be decisively defeated in the fourth battle. Then all the wicked will be annihilated, and the wicked king himself fall captive and be executed by the messiah. Hystaspes’ order of events is not identical with that of the War Scroll, but it is so similar that we can use the detailed account of the latter to understand the details of Hystaspes. The Ora- cles of Hystaspes tell of Israel’s first great victory, followed by four additional rounds, for a total of five rounds of battle. It appears that on Hystaspes’ account, these will involve intermittent defeats and victories for Israel. A similar picture emerges from the War Scroll, though here we find seven rounds, not five, and they are called ‘lots’: “And on the day of their war against the Kittim . . . the sons of light will be the strongest during three lots, in order to strike down wickedness; and in three (others), the army of Belial will gird themselves in order to force the lot of light to retreat. There will be infantry battalions to melt the heart, but God’s might will strengthen the heart of the sons of light. And in the seventh lot, God’s great hand will subdue...”(1QM 1.12-14). Both apocalypses, then, have Israel victorious in the first battle and the number of total rounds is odd — a fact that guarantees Israel’s ultimate victory. It appears that the War Scroll locates the sequence of the wicked king’s escape, capture, and execution, following the final victory, while Hystaspes (according to Lactantius) has the king escaping after the first defeat, but being captured and executed only after his final defeat. We find, then, that despite differences in detail, we are dealing with a single apocalyptic tradition involving the death of the wicked king, shared by

31. I have discussed this issue in “Hystaspes and John of Patmos,” 446, 450-451. The relevant passage from Hystaspes is found in Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones VII 19.6-7, and Epit- ome 67.1-2.

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the War Scroll, 2 Baruch, and the Oracles of Hystaspes. The relevant motifs may be summarized in the following chart:

Baruch Hystaspes Qumran God’s Sword32 —X X Rounds of War — X X Destruction of the Wicked King X X X Flight of the Wicked King X X X Brought Before the Messiah X X X Messiah Prosecutes King X X Not Extant Execution of Wicked King X X X

The striking resemblance between our three sources leads to the conclusion that this is a distinct apocalyptic tradition that has been largely forgotten. At the same time, it should be noted that 2 Baruch does not include God’s sword, and that the sword plays a different role in Hystaspes and the War Scroll — the latter describing the ultimate defeat of the armies of evil as an act of divine intervention, much like the destruction of the army of Sennacherib or the Egyp- tians at the Red Sea. It is also apparent that the Qumran account is closer to the Oracles of Hystaspes than to 2 Baruch. Now, in principle one might suppose that the Qumran texts were influenced by the Oracles of Hystaspes, but there are substantive differences between the two, and so it is more likely that we are dealing with a common source, one that also gave rise to the description in 2 Baruch. An additional conclusion is that the fragments of the War Rule preserve the continuation of the War Scroll, not a parallel account. The poor condition of many of the Qumran scrolls has forced us to travel a difficult and circuitous route to our destination, and even so many of the details surrounding the eschatological death of the wicked king — the Antichrist in Christian traditions33 — remain obscure. In reconstructing the apocalyptic narrative we have been greatly aided by two ancient Jewish works: the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Oracles of Hystaspes. Like the War Scroll from Qumran, both these texts present visions of eschatological redemption, and employ the same Jewish apocalyptic tradition as we find in the

32. The Apocalypse of John says of the messiah that “from his mouth came a sharp, two- edged sword” (Rev. 1:16), but this is not relevant to our discussion. 33. On a Qumran fragment dealing with the Antichrist see my “The Hubris of the Antichrist in a Fragment from Qumran,” Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 207-213. The fragment has been published in E. Puech, “Fragment d’une apocalypse en Araméen (4Q246 = pseudo Dand),” RB 99 (1992), 48-131. Puech is of the opinion that the fragment deals with the wicked king.

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War Rule in describing the downfall of the wicked king. The present study, then, has yielded two results: we have gained new insights into the structure of the Qumran War Scroll, and uncovered a neglected chapter in the eschatological teachings of Second Temple Judaism.

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13. A Comment on a Prayer for the Welfare of King Jonathan

A Qumran fragment, 4Q448, has recently been published and discussed in Tarbiz.1 The fragment contains at least two distinct literary genres. The top section records remnants from the apocryphal Psalm 154, while the bottom contains a prayer for the welfare of King Jonathan, a clear reference to Alex- ander Jannaeus.2 The following are merely preliminary remarks, meant to supplement this important and fascinating publication. My comments are limited to the prayer for the welfare of King Jonathan. The remains of the prayer are preserved on columns 2 and 3 of the fragment. Column 2 is fully preserved, and though column 3 is incomplete, it clearly continues the prayer as Jonathan is mentioned on line 8. Here is the entire text of column 2:

Arise, Holy One on behalf of King Jonathan, and the whole assembly of your people, Israel, who are in the four winds of heaven. May they all have peace. And on behalf of your kingdom3 may your name be blessed.

As noted, there is no question that the King Jonathan in question is Al- exander Jannaeus, who ruled over Israel from 103 to 76 b.c.e. Aprayerforthe

1. E. Eshel, H. Eshel, and Ada Yardeni, “A Qumran Composition Containing Part of Ps. 154 and a Prayer for the Welfare of King Jonathan and his Kingdom,” Tarbiz 60 (1991), 295-324. 2. On Alexander Jannaeus see M. Stern, “Judea and Its Neighbors in the Days of Alexan- der Jannaeus,”in M. Stern et al. (eds.), Studies in Jewish History: The Second Temple Period (Jeru- salem, 1991) (Hebrew); E. Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Time of Christ (Edin- burgh, 1973), 1.219-228. 3. On the Hebrew word for ‘kingdom,’ hclmm, see below, n. 14.

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welfare of this king would not have sat well with the Qumran community, though it was preserved on a scroll from its library.4 However, I think this contradiction may not be as great as it first appears. Today too one can find in various sectarian libraries books that are quite removed from the strict dog- matism of their adherents. Moreover, the fragmentary remains of the scroll do not correspond to the orthography and the language that characterize the distinctly sectarian compositions, so it may not have been copied by a Qumran scribe. This is a distinct possibility, as the Qumran Psalms scroll contains non-sectarian apocryphal psalms, including Psalm 154, parts of which are extant in our scroll.5 It appears, then, that hymnal poetry after the fashion of the Psalms was dear to the Qumran community, and this may be the reason the scroll was deposited in the Qumran library. It is possible that the librarian or scribe did not even note that the hero of the prayer — King Jonathan — was detested by the sect. When was the prayer for the well-being of King Jonathan — that is, Al- exander Jannaeus — composed? One suitable opportunity was the year 80 b.c.e.6 That was the year that Alexander Jannaeus returned home, after an uninterrupted series of victories and accomplishments.7 After three years of military campaigns, Alexander Jannaeus returned home and received an enthusiastic welcome from his people.8 It may be that this event is reflected in

4. The scroll in question does not deal with the question of whether the wicked priest discussed in the Qumran literature is, in fact, Alexander Jannaeus. Irrespective, the Qumranites were quite hostile toward this king, just as they were toward the ‘last priests of Jerusalem’ including Alexander Jannaeus, who is referred to in Pesher Nahum as the “lion of wrath,” a title that bespeaks the sect’s very negative view of the ruler. For a more detailed discussion see Flusser, “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum,”in the present volume, and Stern, “Judea and Its Neighbors in the Days of Alexander Jannaeus,”147 and n. 97. On the keen political vision of the Qumran community see Flusser, “The Roman Empire in Hasmonean and Essene Eyes,” in the present volume. 5. See J. Sanders (ed.), The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (Oxford, 1965). A discussion of Psalm 154 is found on pp. 64-70. 6. On this year see Schürer, A History of the Jewish People, 226 and n. 25, as well as the comments of R. Marcus, Josephus (Cambridge, Mass., 1943), 7.425. 7. See Stern, “Judea and Its Neighbors in the Days of Alexander Jannaeus,” 149. 8. Josephus, BJ 1.105; AJ 13.394. Sefer Josippon, a medieval Jewish work based on Josephus, describes the event as follows: “Then [Alexander Jannaeus] came and settled in Jerusalem after three years of war, and the Jews received him with great honor and honored him greatly, and they praised him for his bravery, as was the custom of the Greeks” (Sefer Josippon, edited by D. Flusser [Jerusalem, 1979], 1.136). S. Safrai has called my attention to the following from the Babylonian Talmud: “It happened that King Yannai went to Nahlit, in the desert, where he conquered sixty cities. When he returned he was in good cheer and he gathered all the sages of Is- rael . . .” (Kiddushin 66b). See also Schürer, A History of the Jewish People, 213-214, and n. 30, as

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the prayer for the well-being of the king discovered in the Qumran library, or perhaps that this was the occasion of its composition. This would not be the first time that the Jewish people’s sympathy for the heroic king would overcome its antipathy for the same cruel king. Thus, e.g., in circa 88 b.c.e.,9 after Alexander Jannaeus suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Demetrius III of Syria, six thousand Jewish soldiers abandoned the Syrian army and enlisted with Jannaeus’ forces, having taken pity on their defeated king. The prayer for the well-being of King Jonathan was obviously composed during his lifetime. Later, when the king lay on his deathbed, Jannaeus convinced his wife to reconcile with the Pharisees.10 And, indeed, a lavish funeral was held during which the Pharisees praised the deeds of the late king to the Jewish masses, claiming that Israel had lost a righteous king, thus causing the people to mourn his death. If so, despite the heavy shadow hanging over the biography of this king, Alexander Jannaeus did occasionally elicit sympathy in the hearts of his subjects. Thus, the most fitting date for the composition of the prayer for the well-being of King Jonathan is, as noted, 80 b.c.e. There is no question that the prayer for King Jonathan is not only fascinating in its own right, it meaningfully contributes to our understanding of the history of Jewish thought during the Hasmonean period. Referring to the Jewish people as a whole, the prayer speaks of “the whole assembly of your people, Israel, who are in the four winds of heaven.” The phrase “four winds of heaven” occurs in Zechariah 2:6 and Ezekiel 37:9 (“from the four winds”). Another relevant source for the present discussion is the early Christian work, Didache, composed circa 100 c.e.11 There (10.5) we find the very same language inserted into the Christian grace after meals: “Remember, Lord, your community...andgather it from the four winds, into the kingdom that you have prepared for it.” Here the Jewish hope for the ingathering of exiles has been transferred to the young Christian community (see also Didache 9.4).12 The same hope for complete Christian redemption finds its expression in the

well as 223, n. 16. But even if we assume that the story deals with Alexander Jannaeus rather than John Hyrcanus, the Talmudic tale seeks to explain the rift between the king and the Pharisees, while the enthusiastic welcome of Jannaeus which Josephus reports occurred long after the hostilities began between Jannaeus and the Pharisees. 9. See Schürer, A History of the Jewish People, 224; Stern, “Judea and Its Neighbors in the Days of Alexander Jannaeus,” 147 and n. 97. 10. See Josephus, AJ 13.399-406; B. Sotah, 22b. 11. On the Didache see my “Which Is the Right Way That a Man Should Choose for Him- self?” Tarbiz 60 (1991), 163-178, and the bibliography cited at p. 163, n. 1. 12. On the concept of the ingathering of exiles and its function in the early church see Flusser, “A New Testament Prophecy Concerning the Liberation of Jerusalem” (Hebrew), Eretz Israel 10 (Zalman Shazar volume) (Jerusalem, 1971), 263-268.

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A Comment on a Prayer for the Welfare of King Jonathan

Gospel of Mark (13:27), which states: “Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” (and see also Matt. 24:31). The prayer for the well-being of King Jonathan refers to the hope of an ingathering of exiles only obliquely. The prayer speaks of Jerusalem, the Holy City, on the one hand, and of the Jewish people as a whole — “the whole assembly of your people, Israel, who are in the four winds of heaven” — on the other. There is a linkage between Jerusalem and the Jewish diaspora already in the epistle of Judah Maccabee, written shortly before the dedication of the Temple (2 Macc 1.1-2, 18), and preserved in 2 Maccabees,13 which was written by “the people in Jerusalem and in Judaea and the Council of the Elders and Judah” and sent to “the Jews in Egypt” (2 Macc. 1.10). The epistle seeks to include the Egyptian Jews in the celebration of Judah Maccabee’s dedication of the Temple. He addresses them as follows:

We write you inasmuch as we are about to celebrate the Purification. Please celebrate the days. God has saved His entire people and restored the heritage to us all, and also the kingdom14 and the priesthood and the sanctification, as He promised in the Torah. For we hope in God, that He will speedily have mercy on us and gather us together from the lands under the heavens to His holy Place, for He has indeed delivered us from great evils and has purified His Place. (2 Macc 2.16-18)

This is not the place to discuss all the important aspects of Judah Maccabee’s address, but it is worth noting that he asks the Jews of Egypt to participate in the celebration because he saw the purification of the Temple as a historic event for all Israel, throughout the Jewish diaspora: “God has saved His entire people and restored the heritage to us all.” The salvation was not confined to Jerusalem or the Land of Israel, but a salvation of the entire people, including those living in the diaspora, e.g., in Egypt. The lot heritage of God belongs to the Jewish people as a whole, wherever they may be, and in the future God will “gather us together from the lands under the heavens to His holy Place.”

13. On the epistle of Judah Maccabee, see D. Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Litera- ture,” 277-280. A more detailed discussion is found in my article “The Dead of Masada in Their Eyes and in the Eyes of Their Contemporaries” (Hebrew) in A. Oppenheimer, I. Gafni, and M. Stern (eds.), Jews and Judaism in the Days of the Second Temple, the Mishnah, and the Talmud (S. Safrai Festschrift) (Jerusalem, 1995), 130-134. 14. The Greek reads bas¾leion, which is used in the sense of ‘kingdom’ three times in the Septuagint. More importantly, the Hebrew hclmm, ‘kingdom,’appears twice in the fragmentary remnants of the benediction for the welfare of King Jonathan (2.8 and 3.6).

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The prayer for the well-being of King Jonathan indicates that the same ideological orientation found in the epistle of Judah Maccabee remained current in the days of Alexander Jannaeus, at least in the circles closest to the Hasmonean family. The prayer expresses not only the Maccabean ideology of inclusive Jewish nationhood,15 but (in keeping with the spirit of Judah Maccabee’s epistle) mentions both Jerusalem as God’s “holy Place” and the diaspora, “the whole assembly of your people, Israel, who are in the four winds of heaven” (though without mentioning the ingathering of exiles). To the best of my knowledge, there is no other ancient prayer that mentions the Jewish diaspora in such a simple and self-evident way. This is no coincidence. Following the establishment of the Maccabean dynasty, the ties between Is- rael and the diaspora were strengthened, thus fortifying the sense of Jewish national identity both in Israel and outside it.

15. See the phrase “And on behalf of your kingdom may your name be blessed.”Thus, the kingdom of the king of Israel is also the kingdom of God! This duality is typical of the Judaism of the day and appears also in the words of Judah Maccabee from 2 Maccabees cited above. Ju- dah states that “we are about to celebrate the Purification” but a few verses on we find that God “has purified His place.”

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14. The Roman Empire in Hasmonean and Essene Eyes

To Yigael Yadin Remota itaque iustitia quid Sunt regna nisi magna Latrocinia? (Augustine, Civitas Dei 4.4)

The scholar of literature and art has the right, even the obligation, to judge the artistic merits of the works he discusses. The historian too is obliged to judge and evaluate, albeit in a different fashion. He must judge the moral quality of his written sources, and of the historical processes he encounters in his work. At the same time, his judgment must remain objective. If he fails to abide by both demands, he will not be a full-fledged historian. As a result, the material that he delves from the past will be a dead aggregate of facts, failing to demonstrate even the objective facts he wishes to uncover. But before the historian proceeds with an axiological analysis of the trends and forces at work in human history, he must first understand those groups with whom empathy is difficult — be it in terms of their moral standing, the internal logic that guides them, or their ultimate utility. Such an understanding is prior to any evaluation, and must consider the circumstances of that historical era. After all, while those who thought as they thought and acted as they acted considered — whether rightly or wrongly — the circumstances of their day, they could not know the future with any certainty, and so could not foresee the shifting historical and political landscape, and the ultimate outcome of their actions and ideologies — for better or for worse. The historian who seeks to draw conclusions from his work, must, then, provide a human- axiological assessment, while tracing the results of thoughts and actions in human history. This is not the place to discuss the practical use of good and evil in the life of the individual and of humanity; there are, of course, differ-

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ent views regarding this question. That said, there are undoubtedly many cases, both for individuals and throughout human history, where the absence of moral considerations, along with an inability to foresee future events, has been detrimental. The following study represents, I believe, an outstanding example of this phenomenon, drawn from Jewish history.

This is not the place to discuss the amazing historical phenomenon usually referred to by the general term ‘imperialism.’ This phenomenon has always had two aspects in all its historical manifestations: the relationship between the good and the monstrous in an empire that spans continents, depends both on the nature of the imperial idea and on its realization. There are huge empires of cruel conquest, while other empires play a positive role. Still, even the empires of the most enlightened cosmocrats contain frightening elements, particularly for those who are subject to their might. The Roman empire was the first to develop a positive ideology that seeks to explain — with a fair degree of truth — its important role in uniting the world under its rule, in terms of civilization, security, and peace. That said, there was also a negative aspect to the empire, and from the time of its imperial expansion on, there were those who hated it very much — both among the nations that it fought, and those who suffered under its yoke. Throughout its existence, the Roman empire faced unceasing wars and rebellions against its expansion. The battle raged not only on the battlefield, but in the ideological arena as well. Against the pax Romana ideology of the empire was the anti- imperialist ideology — and both camps had a basis for their claims.1 The earliest testimonies of an anti-Roman ideology appear in the beginning of the second century b.c.e., when the Seleucid king, Antiochus III — the father of Antiochus Epiphanes and host to Rome’s great enemy, Hannibal — was defeated by Rome. In those days Rome faced east, but the move toward direct rule over the eastern Mediterranean was complicated, and did not come to fruition until many years later. The difficulty was not only one of amassing the necessary military strength, but also because in the early stages of the expansion east, the Roman empire did not have a clear goal, a clear purpose. Its leaders, like the ruling classes, entertained various and sometime contradictory notions as to the political goals of the eastern expansion. There was even some hesitation with regard to Greece, eliminated only when Greece as a whole

1. See H. Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom (Berlin, 1960).

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came under Roman rule. Early on, the Romans sought local allies in Asia (and Egypt), including the Hasmonean dynasty. With time, however, they became more involved in the east and a growing number of eastern regions became Roman provinces. The Roman conquest of the east proceeded at a dramatically more rapid pace after Pompey’s victory over Mithridates, the king of Pontus. This victory marked, inter alia, the end of the Seleucid kingdom. This period, 63 b.c.e., marks the beginning of a heavy-handed Roman intervention into Jewish affairs, as Jerusalem was conquered by Pompey. However, even after these conquests, the Romans focused on the Parthian danger, and allowed many of the vassal kingdoms to stand — most important of which for the present discussion was Herod’s kingdom. Apparently the Romans saw the existence of these kingdoms, dependent as they were on Rome’s good will, as a buffer zone of sorts. However, over the course of the first century c.e., these kingdoms too became Roman provinces, a process that met with almost no active resistance on the part of the eastern population. The notable exception was the Jews, who maintained the memory of the independent Hasmonean dynasty, and whose Torah taught them to love freedom and hate the yoke of foreign rule. It is no coincidence that the Jewish resistance to Rome emerged as their land was becoming part of the Roman empire.

III

Ties between Israel and Rome were established during the reign of Judah Maccabee, who initiated the contact.2 However, Rome’s rapacious and aggressive plans were known decades prior to that, during the reign of Antiochus the Great (III), and many an eastern heart yearned for vengeance against Rome, a feeling that found its expression in an ideology of hatred. Despite this, and despite the fact that Judah Maccabee was apparently aware of the dark and threatening side of Roman power,3 he did not consider this reason enough to forego the opportunity to establish ties with Rome. In those days, Rome had not yet conquered the east — indeed, Israel was out of their reach and Rome

2. The documents pertaining to the Hasmonean-Roman ties have been collected in M. Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt (Hebrew) (Tel Aviv, 1965), which includes introductions and commentary. 3. On which, see E. Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums (Stuttgart, 1921), 2.236-241 (anti-Roman sedition in Asia up to the rise of Judah Maccabee), 246-247 (the contact between Judah and Rome). On the political ties between Judah and the Romans see also Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 74-83; Schürer, A History of the Jewish People, 1.171-173.

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was willing to play the role of a distant ally against the Hellenistic states. The situation was largely the same in the days of John Hyrcanus, during whose reign 1 Maccabees was composed, though the shadows cast by Rome had grown darker. Already in 145 b.c.e., well before the days of John Hyrcanus, the Roman army utterly razed Corinth. Three years prior, the Roman province of Macedonia was established, and Roman customs officials diluted the indigenous population of Bithynia in Asia Minor, though it remained outside Ro- man direct rule. In 129 b.c.e., during the reign of John Hyrcanus, the Romans established a province, ‘Asia,’ heir to Pergamum, annexed the region of Caria, and included all of western Asia Minor and the adjoining isles. However, two events occurred following John Hyrcanus’ reign that fortified Rome’s power in the region: first, the war against Mithridates of Pontus resulted in Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem, and then, in the first century c.e., the Asian vassal kingdoms lost their questionable independence. It was this step that led to the zealots’ revolts and to the great rebellion against Rome. Judah Maccabee was not the only one to forge ties with the Romans; his Hasmonean successors maintained these ties and, indeed, fortified them.4 What was the Jewish populace’s view of these diplomatic ties before John Hyrcanus? One possible indication is the ‘declaration of independence’ from the time of Simon, John Hyrcanus’ father, found in 1 Maccabees (14.38-40). There we find the following in praise of Simon: “King Demetrius in view of all this has confirmed him as high priest and admitted him to the ranks of his Friends and conferred great distinction upon him; indeed, he heard that the Romans had given the Jews the title ‘Friends and Allies’ and that they had treated Simon’s ambassadors with honor.” There is no question that Demetrius II’s treatment of the Jews was influenced by the renewal of their friendship with the Romans, and by the activity of the Jewish embassy in Rome. The relations with Rome are, then, noted in the ‘declaration of independence’ within the context of Demetrius’ positive attitude toward the head of the Jewish state. In other words, Simon’s ties with Rome are presented in this document as a critical step on the road to Israel’s political independence. Judah Maccabee strove for political independence from the outset. This approach finds expression in the epistle5 — preserved in the opening chapters of 2 Maccabees — that he sent to the Jews of Egypt, during the prepara- tions for the dedication of the temple. This is how he describes the political and religious condition of the Jews in Israel to their brethren in Egypt:

4. See the relevant documents and analysis in Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt. 5. See Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 277-280.

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As we said, we write you inasmuch as we are about to celebrate the Purifi- cation. Please celebrate the days. God has saved His entire people and restored the heritage to us all...also...thekingdom and the priesthood and the sanctification, as He promised in the Torah. For we hope in God, that He will speedily have mercy upon us and gather us together from the lands under the heavens to His holy Place, for He has indeed delivered us from great evils and has purified His Place. (2 Macc. 2.16-18)

Judah Maccabee’s words provide an indirect vista into what he considered to be one of the main goals in purifying the temple. In stating that God has given the kingdom to his people, Judah is suggesting that, following the dedication of the temple, Israel has achieved partial independence. The desire for political independence guided Judah Maccabee’s actions for the rest of his life. He saw that the Lord had saved Israel from great evils, but that the danger had not fully passed, and thus he turned to the Romans for support. There are, of course, many differences between Judah Maccabee and Al- exander Jannaeus, both in terms of their character, and in terms of their actions. Analysis of the relevant sources clearly shows that these differences are not merely the result of differences in the character of the two Hasmonean leaders, but rather reflect a historic shift. Lack of evidence prevents us from surveying every step in the process that saw the shift from a religious-national war of liberation to a policy tantamount to the worship of the power and authority of “that family of men to whom it had been granted to be the agents of Israel’s deliverance” (1 Macc. 5.62). It is possible that there were individuals in the Hasmonean family who already adhered to a weaker version of this view at the outset of the rebellion — the first seeds of a bitter harvest.6 There are some who suggest that the turning point was the death of Judah Maccabee and the policies of his brother, Jonathan.7 Changing circumstances brought the latter into a much more active engagement with the Seleucid kingdom, and he eventually was appointed to the high priesthood by the Hellenistic king. We have already noted the ‘declaration of independence’ granted Si- mon, Jonathan’s brother and heir. There are scholars who argue that Simon is

6. The author of Daniel writes of the rebellion in its early days: “When they [i.e., the wise among the people] fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely” (11:34). To whom was he referring? The most plausible interpretation identifies the people who provide only “a little help” as individuals who joined in the rebellion not out of a desire to resist the decrees of Antiochus, but out of intentions that had nothing to do with the sacred goals of the revolt. Did he have careerists in mind? Or was he perhaps leveling this accusation at the Hasmonean dynasty itself? 7. See E. Bickerman, Die Makkabäer (Berlin, 1935), 42-44.

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referred to in the document as “commander and prince of God’s nation” (1 Macc. 14.47).8 In any case, the original Hebrew version of 1 Maccabees was called la-ynb rq oyb rps, ‘The Book of the House of the Commander and Prince of God’s Children.’9 This title already indicates a great admiration for the members of the Hasmonean dynasty. Moreover, already in the ‘declaration of independence’ we find that it was resolved “by the Jews and the priests, that Simon be commander10 and high priest in perpetuity11 until a true prophet shall arise” (1 Macc. 14.41). The double role of chief and high priest was given to Simon and to his sons after him, but with a proviso: it would continue “until a true prophet shall arise” — a prophet who can decide the matter.12 Within the court of Simon’s son, John Hyrcanus, there were those who argued that the proviso was annulled and that the Hasmonean rule was no longer temporary: John, the priest to God most high, who had been granted the ability to prophesy, united the three crowns in his person: the crown of kingship, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of prophecy.13 Now, John never dared to call himself ‘king,’but his son, Aristobulus I, had no such compunctions, nor indeed did the rulers who succeeded him. John Hyrcanus himself ultimately shifted his allegiance to the Sadducee camp — a fateful move for the Hasmonean dynasty — and there is no need to discuss the problematic figure of his other son, Alexander Jannaeus. It is also difficult to view in a favorable light the forced conversion of the local Gentile population by these commanders of the sons of God. As for their policy of allying themselves with political and military might, one can only wonder whether Realpolitik usually represents the pragmatic path in politics. Be all that as it may, beginning with Judah Maccabee, through the days of John Hyrcanus,

8. See Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 134. 9. Origen of Alexandria knew this name, and he is cited by Eusebius, Ecclesiastical His- tory, 6.25.2.1. There we find the name “Sarbethsa[r]banaiel,” but in the same list we find the Book of Psalms referred to as ‘Spharthelleim.’ In other words, Origen heard the Semitic word sefer, ‘book,’ in its Aramaic pronunciation, thus ‘Sphar” (the book of) ‘thelleim’ (tehillim, Psalms). The same holds for the Hebrew name of 1 Maccabees, i.e., the beginning is a corruption of the ‘book’ and ‘sarbaniel’ (la ynb rq), the title itself. There is no need for far-flung hypotheses, certainly not since the discovery of the scrolls. See Yadin, War Scroll, 44 n. 6, who discusses the epithet ‘commander of the nation of God.’ 10. See also the variant readings on this verse. The Greek word strathgÌv, which is also found in 14:35 and 13:42, regularly translates rq, and occasionally ayqn. 11. An allusion to Psalm 110. The Greek translation of 1 Maccabees reads: High Priest. 12. See Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 138-139. 13. See Josephus, BJ 1.69; AJ 13.300. The Essenes transformed these three crowns into three eschatological figures. See O. Michel and O. Bauernfeind, Der jüdische Krieg (Darmstadt, 1959), 1.406, n. 35.

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and down to Pompey’s calamitous conquest of Judah, there occurs a gradual shift within the Jewish leadership.

This brief historical survey was necessary for understanding the ideological background to the praises heaped on Roman might in 1 Maccabees 8.1-16 as justification for the establishment of diplomatic ties between Judah Maccabee and Rome. The question presents itself as to whether the praises of Roman might in 1 Maccabees (cited in full below) were written during the time of Judah Maccabee, or at a later date, when the book was composed (by the hand of the author?). Careful analysis suggests the latter. For instance, the passage states that the Romans had reduced the Greeks to servitude “down to the present day” (1 Macc. 8.10), suggesting the author lives after the death of Judah Maccabee. Moreover, the description reflects later stages of Greek servitude to the Romans. The inaccuracies regarding the world outside the borders of Israel, and especially the account of Roman imperial history, are no guarantee that the passage is early, since in other parts of the book as well we find that the authors knowledge of the outside world is rather limited. Thus, for instance, he believes that the Elam region is one of the cities of Persia (1.10).14 Those scholars that argue that 1 Maccabees was composed during the reign of John Hyrcanus are undoubtedly correct,15 as the conclusion of the book clearly indicates (and it is hard to imagine that it was written after his death). ‘The Book of the House of the Commander and Prince of God’s Children,’ as it was called, reflects a great admiration for the Hasmonean dynasty and its rulers.16 This admiration, alongside the praises of Roman power, demonstrates the author’s fondness for military and political might. A very different spiritual environment is evident in another document that praises Roman might, namely

14. See Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 13-18. 15. Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 13. 16. Though this florid title is undoubtedly ancient, there is evidence to suggest it was not the original title. Interestingly, aside from the reconstructed epithet ‘commander of the nation of God’ (see above, n. 9), found in a document preserved in 1 Maccabees, the book never mentions the various names of God (}el, }elohim, }adonai). The avoidance of God’s titles is quite marked, e.g., in 1 Maccabees 4.24: “they sang hymns of thanksgiving to Heaven for It is good, its mercy endures forever.”The author avoids citing the first hemistich of the verse, referring to God as ‘heaven’ — a fairly common occurrence. The author of 1 Maccabees knew that prophecy had ceased, and this is probably the reason for the similar reticence of the Scroll of Esther. Incidentally, based on the Ben Sira text discovered at Masada, it seems Ben Sira used the name }adonai rather than the explicit name of God, though not so in the medieval Ben Sira manuscripts.

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Jonathan’s epistle to the Spartans (1 Macc. 12.13-16). The letter states that John’s emissaries will spend time in Sparta on their way to Rome, seeking to establish a friendship alliance with the Spartans. He writes: “As for us, many troubles and many wars have beset us, as the kings in our vicinity waged war upon us. Now, we did not wish to bother you or our other allies and friends with these wars, for we have the help of Heaven coming to our aid, so that we have been saved from our enemies and our enemies have been brought low.” These words are similar in spirit to those of Judah Maccabee, Jonathan’s brother, preserved in 2 Maccabees. There too (2 Macc. 2.16-18) Judah emphasizes the religious faith in “God, who saved His entire people and restored the heritage to us all...for He has indeed delivered us from great evils.” Both epistles, then, are aware of the dangers hanging over Israel, but nonetheless note their faith in God. It appears the atmosphere in the Hasmonean court changed, as it is clear that the author of 1 Maccabees comes from the circles of John, priest of God most high. As it happens, this Hasmonean ruler ultimately joined the Sadducee camp — a shift brought about, no doubt, by more than just theological considerations. According to the Essene sources, the Sadducee forces included a number of “mighty warriors” (Pesher Nahum 3.11), as indeed we know of the military leaders of Alexander Jannaeus, the Sadducee king and son of John Hyrcanus. A number of these military figures would go on to serve Aristobulus and Alexander Jannaeus.17 Who knows if it was not a cold assessment of the military and political utility of the Sadducee officers — utility both for the Jewish state and for its ruler — that caused John Hyrcanus to turn his back on the Pharisees and transfer his allegiance to the Sadducees? It is difficult to establish with any degree of certitude that the author of 1Maccabees—aconfidant of the Hasmonean dynasty — was a Sadducee, but it is certainly clear that he was no Pharisee. This becomes clear from the marked omission — relative, in any case, to 2 Maccabees — of any mention of the resurrection of the dead or life everlasting, though the narrative materials, which include stories of bravery and death, certainly lend themselves to such discussions. Like his predecessor, Ben Sira, our author speaks only of eternal glory, not of life after death. Thus, just prior to his death, Mattathias turns to his sons and says: “Remember the deeds of our ancestors, which they did in their generations, and win for yourselves great glory and undying renown” (1 Macc. 2.51).18 Later in the same chapter he adds: “Have no fear of the words of a wicked man,

17. See Flusser, “Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum,” in the present volume. 18. The words of Ben Sira are apropos: “One wise for his people wins a heritage of glory, and his name lives on and on” (37:26).

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for his glory is destined for dunghills and worms. He will spring up today, but tomorrow he shall not be found, for he shall have turned back into dust, and his plotting shall perish” (1 Macc. 2.62-63). The phrase “undying renown” is repeated in the description of how Simon, following Jonathan’s death, constructs a glorious monument over the family graves “for undying renown” (13.29). Similarly we find the phrase “forever shall his memory be blessed” (3.7) in praise of Judah Maccabee. We find, then, that the author avoids speaking of eternal life, even though the narrative content invites him to do so: the honor of the wicked perishes, while the righteous and the brave are heirs to eternal fame and honor.19 This approach is quite different from that of the Pharisees, situating him closer to the Sadducees and perhaps even identifying him as one of their adherents. At the end of the book (1 Macc. 16.23), the author refers to “the remainder of the history of John, his wars and his valorous deeds and his wall building and his other accomplishments.” While this does not demonstrate that 1 Maccabees was written after the death of John Hyrcanus, it clearly ante- dates the first years of his reign. Gathering together all these elements, we find that the author of 1 Maccabees, who was associated with John Hyrcanus and his court, held opinions similar to those of the Sadducees, and composed the work toward the end of John Hyrcanus’ rule. The book, then, gives voice to the changes in the Hasmonean court, to the conceptual shift whose roots are, to be sure, more ancient, but reaches its apex when the great leader, John the priest of God most high, now toward the end of his life, shifts his allegiance to the Sadducee camp. The book may also have been written slightly before this decisive event, when the processes leading up to it were in full swing. This dating may help explain the naked praise of Roman might expressed in 1 Maccabees, praise that is, to my knowledge, unique, and, removed from its historical context, not flattering to the character and goals of the Roman empire.

Here is the passage in 1 Maccabees that praises Rome:20

(1) Judas had heard about the Romans: that they were a great power who welcomed all who wished to join them and established ties of friendship

19. This somewhat poetic passage is based on Psalm 37, vv. 10, 35-36, and Psalm 146:6. Strikingly, the author of 1 Maccabees inserts the word ‘glory’ here, which is apparently quite important to him. 20. See also Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 46 n. 50.

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with all who approached them. (2) As for their being a great power, Judas’ informants told him of the Romans’ valor in war: they had fought and conquered the Galatians and imposed tribute upon them. (3) They had fought in the land of Spain, conquering the silver and gold mines there. (4) They had conquered the whole region through their sagacity and perseverance,21 though it was large and far removed from Rome, and thus they had also overcome the kings who had come against them from remote quarters of the earth, defeating them heavily so that the survivors were still paying them annual tribute. (5) They had defeated in battle and conquered King Philip and King Perseus of the Macedonians,22 who had attacked them. (6) Even Antiochus the Great, King of Asia, was defeated by them when he went to war against them though he had one hundred and twenty elephants and cavalry and chariotry and a very large infantry force. (7) The Romans captured him alive and decreed that he and his successors on the throne should pay the Romans a heavy tribute and give hostages and be barred from the fairest of their domains, (8) the Indian land and Medea and Lydia.23 These domains the Romans took from him and gave to King Eumenes. (9) The Greeks of mainland Greece, too, had planned an expedition to destroy the Romans, (10) but when their plot became known to the Romans, they sent a single general against the Greeks and waged war on them, so that many of the Greeks fell slain, and the Romans took captive their wives and children, plundered their property, conquered their land, destroyed their fortresses, and reduced them to servitude down to the present day. (11) As for the remaining kingdoms and the islands, the Romans had reduced to ruin and servitude all who had ever opposed them. (12) With their friends, however, and with those who relied on them, the Romans had maintained their ties of friendship and had conquered the kings both near and far, and all those who heard of the Romans feared them. (13) Those whom they chose to aid to be kings, were kings; those whom they chose to, they deposed. Thus the Romans had risen to great heights of power. (14) Nevertheless, not one of them had sought self-glorification by putting on a diadem24 or wearing purple. (15) They had instituted a senate for themselves, in which every

21. The same language appears in Ben Sira 5.11. In both places the Greek makrothymia is a translation of fyypa Fra. 22. The “Kittim” in question are the Greeks, on which see Yadin, War Scroll, 22-26. 23. That is, the vanquished king was forced to relinquish these lands. 24. This particular statement makes it highly unlikely that this passage was composed after the reign of John Hyrcanus, since his heir, Aristobulus I, had himself become king. It is hard to imagine that a pro-Hasmonean author would praise the Romans for not appointing kings any time after Aristobulus.

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day three hundred twenty sat to deliberate continually over how to maintain the people’s good order. (16) They entrusted their government and the ruling of all their territory to one man each year, everyone obeying him, without any envy or jealousy among themselves. (1 Macc. 8:1-16).

This praise of the Romans is both unique and inherently problematic, although its author surely was not aware that most of the points in his survey may be interpreted as a criticism of Roman imperialism. For one thing, the absence of any mention of the Roman justice system is quite striking. Already at this time Rome saw this as one of the foundations of its empire, indeed one that foreign nations occasionally appreciated as well.25 The author only recounts — with a number of historical errors — the unity and discipline characteristic of the Roman regime, the absence of hubris on the part of its leaders, and that its senators meet daily for the good of the republic (vv 14-15). The absence of any reference to the Roman justice system is particularly marked in light of statements such as: “Those whom they chose to aid to be kings, were kings; those whom they chose to, they deposed. Thus the Romans had risen to great heights of power” (13). True, the author notes that the impetus for Roman conquest occasionally came as a response to an outside attack, as Rome was attacked by kings from the world over (3-11). But this ‘justification’ is not mentioned with regard to the Galatians (2), or the conquest of Spain (3) — where the Romans are said to have conquered “the silver and gold mines there.” Similarly, the author repeatedly notes the heavy taxes imposed by Rome on the vanquished nations (vv. 2, 4, 7). As far as the author is concerned, the Roman conquest is the result of their great military might, but at the same time “they had conquered the whole region through their sagacity and perseverance” (4). Through might and sagacity, they succeed in conquering regions very distant from their homeland, looting the conquered lands, destroying their fortifications, capturing the women and children, and enslaving the residents. In short, all who hear of them are afraid (12).26 But let

25. See Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 3 and 28, n. 9. 26. Fuchs notes a striking resemblance between the praise of Rome in 1 Maccabees and in the Third Book of the Sibylline Oracles, 175-178, 190, 194-195 (Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 46 n. 50 and 30 n. 18; Fuchs follows earlier scholars who see lines 179-189 as a late addition made by an anti-Roman Jewish author). Fuchs argues that this Jewish oracle was composed in the middle of the second century b.c.e. The broader context is as follows: the house of Solomon will rule, then the other nations of Asia, and finally the great and wily Macedonians, “but then will be the beginning of another kingdom, white and many-headed from the western sea. It will rule over much land, and will shake many, and will thereafter cause fear to all kings . . . in many places, but especially in Macedonia....Andthen the people of the great God will again be strong who will be guides in life for all mortals” (trans. J. J. Collins in Charlesworth’s

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not the Hasmonean rulers fear Roman expansion! To the contrary: Judah Maccabee was right to forge a treaty of friendship with them, and his heirs are wise to maintain it. For the Romans possess a redeeming quality: the power they use to vanquish many nations is not turned against their allies. Indeed, their friends can count on Roman fidelity: “they were a great power who welcomed all who wished to join them and established ties of friendship with all whoapproachedthem(1)...[w]ith their friends, however, and with those who relied on them, the Romans had maintained their ties of friendship” (12). It appears, then, that Roman propaganda had succeeded in establishing this image in the Hasmonean court at the time that 1 Maccabees was composed. Already in the days of Judah Maccabee, however, this image was dubious. It is more questionable still if the book was indeed composed in the latter years of John Hyrcanus, when he had turned to the spiritual and political world of the Sadducees. Indeed, the appreciation of force on the domestic front led to blind admiration of the unfettered power of the Roman ally. The author, however, could not see the impending danger: when the time was right, i.e., after amassing the force needed for direct rule and other conditions having ripened, Rome would abandon its Jewish allies. For naught will “the last priests of Jerusalem accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations,” for “in the last days their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (Pesher Habakkuk 9.4-7; see also Pesher Nahum 1.11- 12). This is precisely what happened in 63 b.c.e., during the reign of Pompey. The Sadducee circles within the Hasmonean court were dealt a deadly blow. If in the days of John Hyrcanus the author of the encomium to Rome admired their victory over Greece, during which “many of the Greeks fell slain, and the Romans took captive their wives and children,”now the shoe was on the other foot. It is of the house of Aristobulus II and his followers that it is said, “his women, his children and his babies will go into captivity, his warriors and his honored ones [will perish] by the sword” (Pesher Nahum 4.4). These tragic results reveal the dangers inherent in blind admiration for the might of the evil kingdom, casting a dark shadow over 1 Maccabees’ praises of Rome.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1.366). Scholars have noted the similarity between this passage and the praises of Rome in 1 Maccabees. Both allude to the Roman victory over the Mace- donian kingdom, to Rome’s dominance over many nations, and to the fear it strikes in the heart of all kings. If the reconstruction of this oracle is accurate, the text contains neither praise nor blame of Rome; only the Roman victory over the Macedonians—agreatandwilynation, well versed in the art of war — merits the author’s blessings (170-174, 190), and this for obvious reasons. Immediately following, however, is an allusion to the lofty role of Israel in the end of days, when it shall be a light unto the nations (194-195).

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A great scholar long ago noted the similarity between the encomium to Rome in 1 Maccabees 8.1-16, and the description of the Kittim in Pesher Habakkuk.27 As in all the Qumran pesharim, the Kittim of Pesher Habakkuk are undoubtedly the Romans. He writes:

The pesher’s account of the Kittim reads as a forceful protest on the part of the author against the policy of the Maccabees, from Judah to John Hyrcanus, who sought the love and protection of the Roman conquerors against the Seleucid rulers in Syria. The members of the Yahad, the Qumran community, who were enemies of the Hasmonean dynasty, give voice in this interpretation of Habakkuk to the hatred they felt toward the Roman-Hasmonean alliance....Habakkuk’s words about the cruel Assyrians they applied to the Kittim-Romans, thereby hinting that these allies of the Hasmoneans will soon raze Judah, just as the Assyrians destroyed Judah and burned the Temple....This description, that is dia- metrically opposed to that of 1 Maccabees, is also based on hearsay — hearsay that has been greatly exaggerated for the worse.28

It is clear that this scholar is right on most counts; however, I question whether the words of Pesher Habakkuk were intended as a protest against the friendship alliance between the Hasmoneans and Rome. The passage certainly makes no mention of such a protest. There is, however, an explicit attack on Roman imperialism as cruel and rapacious. It is hard to imagine that the author of Pesher Habakkuk was familiar with 1 Maccabees and engaged it in a polemic. We find, then, surprisingly similar descriptions of Rome, but through opposing lenses, since 1 Maccabees admires the might of Rome, while the Essene author abhors it and sees in it a threat to Israel. Indeed, he foresees future events when he writes that “their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (Pesher Habakkuk 9.4-6), for it appears these words were written prior to Pompey’s conquests, that is, prior to the realization of the Roman threat.29 That said, Pesher Habakkuk was most likely not written during the time of John Hyrcanus himself, and should

27. M. Z. Segal, “On the History of the Sect Yahad,” Tarbiz 22 (1951), 137-152, and see particularly 138-143. 28. Segal, “On the History of the Sect Yahad,” 138, 140. 29. The description of the wicked priest most closely suits one of the heirs of John Hyrcanus. Pesher Nahum, on the other hand, reflects the situation after Pompey and his calamitous conquest; see, e.g., 4QpNah 4.4.

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be located several decades after the admirer of John Hyrcanus so lauded Ro- man might in 1 Maccabees. Let us now cite the Pesher Habakkuk passages dealing with the Kittim- Romans, in order, keeping in mind that the order is not a product of the author’s argument, but rather determined by the order of the prophet’s verses. For our part, we will not explore the interpretive practices of Pesher Habakkuk, nor indeed the scroll’s concern with other historical events of the time supposedly alluded to in Habakkuk’s prophecy, but rather focus on the resulting portrait of Rome. Here are the relevant statements:

Its interpretation concerns the Kittim who are swift and powerful in battle, to slay many [. . .] in the kingdom of the Kittim; they will take rule30 [many countries] and will not believe in the precepts of [Go]d (2.12-15)...the Kittim, the fear and dread of whom are on all the peoples; all their thoughts are premeditated to do evil, and with cunning and treachery they behave towards all the nations (3.4-6) . . . the Kittim, who trample the land with their horses and their animals and come from far off, from the islands of the sea, to devour all the nations, like an eagle, insatiable. With fury they are heated and with burning wrath31 and livid faces they will speak to all the nations (3.9-13)...theyderidethepowerfulanddespise the honored men; at kings and princes they jeer, and sneer at a huge nation (4.2-3)... the leaders of the Kittim despise the fortresses of the peoples32 and with derision laugh at them, they surround them with a huge army to capture them. And through dread and fear they surrender into their hands, and they demolish them because of the wickedness of those who dwell in them (4.5-9)33 . . . the leaders of the Kittim who on the advice of a house of the guilty34 go by, one before the other. Their leaders, one after another, will

30. The reading “will take rule” is based on the reconstruction owbr owera wqrw, rather than owbr owera wqryw. The latter, proposed by Maurya P. Horgan, Pesharim (Washington D.C., 1979), 27, is linguistically impossible. The root hqr appears in this sense in the War Scroll 12.4-5, “to have the upper hand” (dw owqrl) (and see Yadin, The War Scroll, 315), and in the Manual of Discipline 10.15: “with the dominion of fear and dismay, when distress and grief are established” (hkwb fe hre vwcmbw ,hmyaw djp oyqrb). See also Yadin’s proposals (but see J. Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim [Jerusalem, 1965], 208). See also the phrase jwr ywnebw yqwk bbl owqr in DJD 7, p. 21 (1Qm 14.7). 31. The reconstruction of the text here is similar to that proposed by Horgan, Pesharim, 30. 32. The Hebrew text, fymeh yrebm le wzby, is similar to Habakkuk 1.10: kjqy rxbm lcl awhw (“They laugh at every fortress”). 33. A conceptual and linguistic parallel is found in the phrase hb ybqwy oerm (“the wickedness of those who live in it”) in Jeremiah 12:4, and Psalm 107:34. 34. Most scholars take this to be a reference to the Roman senate.

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come to raze the earth (4.10-13) . . . the Kittim gather their wealth with all their loot like fish of the sea. And what it says: “Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his seine” (Hab. 1:16) Its interpretation: they offer sacrifices to their standards and their weapons are the object of their worship35 (6.1-5) . . . they distribute their yoke and their burden, which is their food, among all the peoples, year after year, ravaging many countries (6.6-8)...theKittimwillcause many people to die by the end of the sword, youths, adults and old people, women and children; not even children at the breast will they pity (6.10-12)

What we have here is a severe critique of the Romans, and their cruel methods of attaining world domination. The Romans who come to devour all nations will not abide by the laws of God. And yet, this very dark portrait — critically important to the history of the hatred toward the Roman conquerors-destroyers — is strikingly similar to the praises of Rome sung in 1 Maccabees. Here are some of the more apparent parallels:

1 Maccabees 8 Pesher Habakkuk 1-2: they were a great power... 2.12-13: the Kittim who are swift and valor in war powerful in battle 4: They had conquered the whole re- 3.5-6: all their thoughts are premedi- gion through their sagacity and per- tated to do evil, and with cunning severance and treachery they behave towards all the nations 4: it was large and far removed 3.10-11: [they] come from far off, from the islands of the sea 4: the survivors were still paying 6.6-8: they distribute their yoke and them annual tribute (and see also vv. their burden, which is their food, 2 and 7) among all the peoples, year after year, ravaging many countries 10: the Romans took captive their 6.10-11: the Kittim will cause many wives and children, plundered their people to die by the end of the property sword, youths, adults and old people, women and children; not even children at the breast will they pity

35. This phrase is taken as proof that the Kittim in question are the Romans, as this was their custom.

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10:...destroyedtheir fortresses 4.5-6: the leaders of the Kittim despise the fortresses of the peoples 12: [they] conquered the kings both 4.2-3: they deride the powerful and near and far despise the honored men; at kings and princes they jeer, and sneer at a huge nation 12: and all those who heard of the 3.4-5: the Kittim, the fear and dread Romans feared them of whom are on all the peoples 4.7-8: And through dread and fear they surrender into their hands 15: They had instituted a senate for 4.10-13: the leaders of the Kittim themselves who on the advice of a house of the 16: They entrusted their government guilty go by, one before the other. and the ruling of all their territory Their leaders, one after another, will to one man each year36 come to raze the earth

Despite the polar opposition in their overall tone, the two descriptions of Roman might are very similar in detail. Of course, this similarity may be attributed to their addressing the very same historical phenomena. And yet, we must not overlook the different interpretations offered to parallel phenomena. For instance, it is clear that the Essene author, who deeply opposes Roman might and cunning, cannot compliment Rome for its ability to vanquish kingdoms near and far, while maintaining love and friendship with those that rely on it (1 Macc. 8.12).37 Similarly, the view that Roman policy is

36. Stern, Documents on the History of the Hasmonean Revolt, 14, notes that 1 Maccabees states that a different person ruled Rome every year and thus is clearly unfamiliar with the existence of the two consuls. Stern suggests the reason for this error is that only one consul negoti- ated with the Jews, and his name alone appeared on the official documents. However it is also possible that the confusion arose as a result of the senate’s custom of sending a different gover- nor to the provinces each year, as reflected in Pesher Habakkuk: “the leaders of the Kittim who on the advice of a house of the guilty [i.e. the senate] go by, one before the other. Their leaders, one after another, will come to raze the earth” (4.10-13). 37. The same idea is found in the poetic works of Virgil, the Roman ideologue from the time of Augustus. In a famous passage of the Aeneid, Virgil states that the role of the Roman people is to rule over the nations and bring them peace, as well as “have mercy over those who surrender, but destroy those who rise up” (851-853). The world had changed since the days of 1 Maccabees: the Roman empire had become a historical fact — covering the whole of the civi- lized world, and, as a result, the emphasis on Rome’s virtues shifted. No longer an emphasis on Roman loyalty to their allies outside the empire, but rather the ideal of just treatment for the nations that had surrendered to Rome and were part of the empire. Needless to say, both the

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founded on law and justice—aviewshared by a number of foreign nations38 — is not mentioned in Pesher Nahum, nor, as noted, in 1 Maccabees. Indeed, the Essene author not only rejects the notion that Rome is based on law and justice, he holds that they persecute many nations and “will not believe the precepts of God” (1QpHab 2.14-15). The two authors recognize the Romans’ cunning use of negotiations in the service of their imperial expansion, but cast it in a completely different light! 1 Maccabees states that the Romans conquered “the whole region through their sagacity and perseverance” (1 Macc. 8.4), while the Essene author argues that “all their thoughts are premeditated to do evil, and with cunning and treachery they behave towards all the nations” (1QpHab 3.5-6). Not only does he take Rome to task for its scheming as it sets out on additional conquests, he adds that “with fury they are heated, and with burning wrath and livid faces they will speak to all the nations” (1QpHab 3.12-13) and “. . . they deride the powerful and despise the honored men; at kings and princes they jeer, and sneer at a huge nation” (1QpHab 4.1- 3). Here we can make out the distant echoes of the Roman emissaries, and their brutal behavior in negotiating with national leaders. Roman conquest and domination often involved acts of cruelty, which Pesher Nahum describes with no small revulsion: “[T]he Kittim will cause many to die by the edge of the sword, youths, adults and old people, women and children; not even children at the breast will they pity” (1QpHab 6.10-11). The author of 1 Maccabees knows of such events as well, but he recounts them without aversion: the Romans act thus in retaliation. Thus, when the Greeks “had planned an expedition to destroy the Romans,” the latter learned of the plot and “many of the Greeks fell slain, and the Romans took captive their wives and children...andreducedthemtoservitude down to the present day” (1 Macc. 8.9-10). The author goes on to describe how the Romans destroyed the Greek fortresses, a motif that appears in Pesher Habakkuk, but in a ghastly context: “[T]he leaders of the Kittim despise the fortresses of the peoples and with derision laugh at them, they surround them with a huge army to capture them. And through dread and fear they surrender into their hands, and they demolish them because of the wickedness of those who dwell in them” (1QpHab 4.5-9). The Pesher presents us here with a full description of Roman military aggression, based on the allusion in Habakkuk 1:10 (“They laugh at every fortress”). Inter alia, he describes from a particularly Jewish point of view, why the Romans are allowed to conquer the fortresses of the

image of Rome as loyal allies and the later claim of Roman clemency and fairness are products of Roman propaganda and not an accurate historical portrayal. 38. See above, n. 26.

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nations (referring, no doubt, to fortified cities as well): they surround the fortresses with “a huge army” and destroy them “because of the wickedness of those who dwell in them.”39 He even states that these sites fall to the Romans “through dread and fear.” Elsewhere Pesher Habakkuk states generally that the “fear and dread” of the Kittim are on “all people.”1 Maccabees also knows that the world is terrified of Rome: the Romans “had conquered the kings both near and far, and all those who heard of the Romans feared them” (1 Macc. 8.12). But while the author of 1 Maccabees reports that there is fear from the unfettered power of Rome, he himself feels no such qualms. To the contrary: the great might of Rome strikes fear in the hearts of those who hear of the empire, but Rome’s allies stand to gain from its power, as they are “their friends...those who relied on them” (1 Macc. 8.12). Rome’s greed, particularly with regard to the heavy taxes it imposed, was well known. 1 Maccabees mentions the Roman taxes three times in the course of the passage (vv. 2, 4, and 7): once in connection with the victory over the Galatians; a second time in more general terms, as the result of Rome’s victory over “the kings who had come against them from remote quarters of the earth”; and a third time as punishment meted out to Antiochus III after his defeat. The author does not decry Rome’s greed in the least; indeed, he speaks admiringly of the brave battles waged by the Romans who defeated Spain, “conquering the silver and gold mines there” (1 Macc. 8.3). Our Essene author takes a very different view of the economic destruction and heavy taxation visited upon the nations that fall before Rome. The Romans “distribute their yoke and their burden, which is their food, among all the peoples, year after year, ravaging many countries” (1 QpHab 6.6-8); they “trample the land with their horses and their animals and come from far off, from the islands of the sea, to devour all the nations, like an eagle, insatiable” (1 QpHab 3.9-12). The Roman forces “gather their wealth with all their loot like fish of the sea” (1QpHab 6.1-2), while the provincial rulers “one after another, will come to raze the earth” (1QpHab 4.12-13). One author looks on in admiration, the other in horror! And despite this difference, the two accounts agree on so many details that it is possible to take whole passages from one and transfer them smoothly to the other. The author of 1 Maccabees would undoubtedly agree to include in his description of Roman might sentences such as: “[they] are swift and powerful in battle” (1QpHab 2.12); “the fear and dread of [them] are on all the people” (3.4-5); “[they] trample the land with their horses and their animals and come from far off, from the islands of the sea, to devour all the nations” (3.9-11). Similarly

39. See n. 33, above.

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he would agree with the view that the Roman leaders “despise the fortresses of the peoples and with derision laugh at them...andtheydemolish them” (4.5-9), and that the Romans “distribute their yoke and their burden which is their food, among all the peoples, year after year” (6.6-7). All these statements emphasize the might of Rome and contain a number of motifs that do, in fact, appear in 1 Maccabees. The author of Pesher Habakkuk, however, might agree with some of the statements in 1 Maccabees, but would see them as criticism. He might, for example, write that the Romans conquered “the whole region through their sagacity and perseverance” (1 Macc. 8.4), and recognize that they defeated Spain for “the silver and gold mines there” (1 Macc. 8.3) — but all this only serves as proof of Rome’s greed, and should be grouped together with the heavy yoke of Roman taxation (1 Macc. 8.2, 4, 7). In short, the author of Pesher Habakkuk would approve of most of 1 Maccabees’ laudatory description of Roman might — but with two important qualifications: the Romans are not loyal allies, and their attacks are not usually provoked by outside aggression (e.g., as when the Greeks planned “to destroy” them [1 Macc. 8.9]). The curious overlap between praise and blame is, in fact, only apparent. As noted, the same phenomena that the Essene author takes as evidence of Rome’s mendacity, the Hasmonean author interprets as signs of its greatness. If the author of Pesher Habakkuk had known of 1 Maccabees’ praise of the Romans, he would no doubt have seen it as an exemplary expression of the views of “the last priests of Jerusalem, who will accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations. However, in the last days their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (1QpHab 9.4-7). We see, then, two one-sided views of Roman imperialism: the one, Essene, is blind to its positive aspects, since it serves as a manifest of sorts for the victims — both actual and potential — of Roman power. 1 Maccabees too, for all its praise, omits the truly positive traits of the Roman empire, e.g., the rule of law and the pax Romana. Instead it cites Rome’s egalitarian regime that looks after the needs of its subjects without hubris (1 Macc. 8.14-16). As for Rome’s loyalty to its allies (1 Macc. 8.1, 12) — this was largely a façade put on by Rome so as to further its imperial ambitions; what succor they provided their friends was motivated by Roman self-interest. Pesher Habakkuk, 1 Maccabees, and the history of the period all indicate that Rome’s goal was almost always to expand its conquests: “all their thoughts are premeditated to do evil, and with cunning and treachery they behave towards all the nations” (1QpHab 3.5-6). The Hasmonean author presents other Roman qualities as positive: they are ruthlessly efficient in battle, destroy very distant nations, conquer many lands, raze fortified sites, capture women and children, enslave the vanquished and impose onerous taxes, and appropriate the conquered

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nations’ wealth and resources. Rome crowns and deposes kings as it sees fit, casting fear and dread into the hearts of all who hear of their deeds. To be sure, this is faint praise indeed, and we have shown that the Essene author cites very similar descriptions as a mark of Rome’s shame. Rome is not a unique case. Throughout history, the terrifying might of a great and seemingly invincible empire has elicited wonder in many people, especially rulers (and their immediate circles) who viewed a policy based on power as their only true support. So long as the empire’s might was seen as working in their favor, the rulers supported imperial brutality. True, the author of 1 Maccabees attributes to Judah Maccabee a very different view, when he attributes to him the following oration: “It is easy for the many to be delivered into the hands of few. Heaven sees no difference in gaining victory through many or through a few, because victory in war does not lie in the weight of numbers, but rather strength comes from heaven” (1 Macc. 3.18-21). But when the same author, giving voice to the political views of his historical context, addresses the political might of Rome, an empire conceived — and this point is key — as an ally to the Jews, he worships the might of the great empire. The description is, then, necessarily ambivalent: the author wishes to praise, but an attentive ear will hear in his words the very opposite. All the same, the praise of Roman power in 1 Maccabees is a precious and fascinating historical document, as it demonstrates that not all of Rome’s admirers were influenced by Roman propaganda; there were those who were simply smitten with its imperial might. The Essene texts, including Pesher Habakkuk, are more important still: they represent a unique expression of the hatred toward Roman imperialism in the heart of those threatened by it.

VII

Essene anti-imperialism is, in and of itself, a complicated and even contradictory phenomenon, but one that is easily understood within its particular social context.40 The Essene ideology was fundamentally revolutionary and indeed — to speak anachronistically — ‘socialist,’ but at the same time apocalyptic. However, the Qumran community did not only expect a social and universal revolution that they would effect in the end of days with the aid of divine intervention. They began to implement some of these ideas in their

40. I have discussed a number of aspects of Essene ideology in “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume; and “The Social Message from Qumran,” Journal of World History 9 (1968), 107-115.

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daily life. They formed, after all, a distinct social organization, separate from the rest of the Jewish population. One of the best-known features of the community was its commitment to shared wealth, a policy that was in part due to the Essene valorization of poverty as a religious ideal: they were, to be sure, “the select of righteousness” (kdx yryjb), but also “poor in spirit” (jwr yyne) and “poor in grace” (ynwyba dsj). The Essene author thanked God that “You have not placed my support in robbery, nor in wealth” (1QHa 18.22-23). The community set itself apart from the wealth of the rapacious, hating “the men of the bending of the law, those who point the finger and speak evil and are keen on riches” (1QS 11.2). They believed that wealth breeds moral corruption, as indeed happened to the Wicked Priest, who was one of the Hasmo- nean rulers, for the Wicked Priest

was called loyal at the start of his office. However, when he ruled over Is- rael his heart became proud, he deserted God and betrayed the laws for the sake of riches. And he robbed and hoarded wealth from the violent men who had rebelled against God. And he seized public money, incur- ring additional serious sin.41 (1QpHab 8.8-12)

The Essene opposition to all wealth that involves injustice was categori- cal. We saw above that the author of Pesher Habakkuk cries out against “the last priests of Jerusalem, who will accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations. However, in the last days their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (1QpHab 9.4-7). And if the Essenes opposed ill-gotten riches in general, and looting from other nations, in particular, it is evident that they would be sensitive to the economic abuses visited upon other nations by the Romans, who “gather their wealth with all their loot like fish of the sea” (1QpHab 6.1-2). Incidentally, like other revolutionary groups, the Essene opposition to capital was inconsistent. True, they referred to themselves as the poor and impoverished, but new members were required to contribute their personal wealth to the community coffers, and all were allowed to profit from their work. They could not, however, enter into partnership with people outside the community. Regarding “the goods of the men of holiness who walk in perfection, their goods must not be mixed with the goods of the men of deceit who have not cleansed their path to separate from injustice and walk in a perfect behavior” (1QS 9.8-9). Not only did the community possess capital, the Manual of Discipline promises that “my soul shall not crave wealth by vi-

41. The Wicked Priest also “plundered the possessions of the poor” (1QpHab 12.10), and it appears the poor in question are the members of the Qumran community.

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olence, nor shall I be involved in any dispute with the men of the pit until the day of vengeance” (1QS 10.19). It appears, then, that the members of the Qumran community are enjoined not to accumulate wealth from the men of the pit only on a temporary basis; this will change on the eschatological day of judgment, with the outbreak of the war of the sons of light against the sons of darkness. Then the sons of light will conquer all of Israel, indeed all of the world, and then, “the congregation of his chosen ones...willbechiefs and princes over the whole people like shepherds among their flocks,”for theirs is “the inheritance of the whole,”and “they will inherit the high mountain of Is- rael and delight in his holy mountain” (4Q171 [= 4QPsa] 3.5-11).42 Like the resistance to wealth, there are problematic aspects to the famous Essene pacifism as well — perhaps even more so.43 We have already seen that they are preparing themselves for the war of the sons of light against the sons of darkness, a war that will end with the conquest of the entire world, and the destruction of all the wicked. We may assume that as the day of judgment tarried, the Essenes did not wholly relinquish their expectations for vengeance. The Essene pacifism, then, was conditional: for the while, the Essene is commanded “everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit; to them he should leave goods and hand-made items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed to one domineering him,” while at the same time remaining “enthusiastic for the decree and for its time, for the day of revenge”44 (1QS 9.21-23). In this manner, the pacifist and aggressively anti- imperialist Essenes were able to submit to any imperial master,45 and even found common cause with the hated King Herod.46 Similar paradoxes occur in other pacifistic revolutionary groups, as well as a variety of religious sects and secular political movements. Still it should be noted that the Essene ideology — whether understood as actively revolutionary, or as a conditional form of pacifism that preaches “everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in

42. The Pesher interprets Psalm 37:22, “For those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land.” The Essene exegete concludes his interpretation with the word ‘delight’ which is taken from verse 11: “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” The Qumran pesher (2.11-12) to this verse is only partially preserved, but ‘the meek’ are characterized as following: “Afterwards, all who inherit the land will enjoy and grow fat with everything enjoyable to the flesh.” See the discussion in Horgan, Pesharim, 2.208-209. I do not see any reason not to reconstruct the lacunae so as to suggest that the meek will enjoy earthly pleasures in the end of days. 43. See my “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume. 44. This reading follows Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 198. 45. See D. Flusser, “The Jewish Origins of the Early Church’s Attitude Toward the State,” in the present volume. 46. See Josephus, JA 15.371-372.

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clandestine spirit” — is classically anti-imperial through and through. It is no coincidence that the Essenes valorized poverty and opposed — in a form of ‘anti-capitalism’ — the accumulation of wealth generally, and political rulers who “accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations” in particular. The Essenes consciously sought out a coherent yet flexible worldview that set them apart from any other group in the ancient world. They are outstanding representatives of the Jewish apocalyptic tradition, which was based in no small part on a combination of anti-imperialism and fierce social critique. (One need only read the book of Revelation for proof). It would appear that the revolt against the corrupt norms of our world provides the main impetus for the formation of Jewish apocalypticism, and for similar movements in other nations. These fervent adherents of eschatological redemption hoped for the destruction of this evil world and the immediate advent of redemption. But they did not look only toward the eschaton. Sensing the crisis of their day, their historical senses grew sharp and over-eager and they widened their gaze beyond the present to the broader horizon of humanity’s genesis and meaning and ultimate telos. They believed that theirs was a time of transition — an end to the old era and the beginning of the new, and so they came to believe that history consists of a shifting sequence of eras.47 The Book of Daniel contains the doctrine of the four kingdoms,48 but this is not the only possible apocalyptic division of history. The overarching view of human history and its periodization are the outstanding achievements of apocalypticism. Through this critical issue, apocalyptic thought (and not biblical prophecy) — with the Book of Daniel and the New Testament as conduits — exercised a decisive influence on a wide range of historiographic systems, beginning with the Church Fathers and down to the present.49

47. On this subject see the fascinating study by J. Licht, “The Qumran Doctrine of Histori- cal Epochs and Other Eschatological Speculations,” Eretz Israel 8 (1967; Sukenik volume), 63-70. Licht rightly mentions G. Leisersohn, Estrutura y sentido de la historia según la literatura apocalíptica (Santiago de Chile, 1960). A fragment of 4Q180 opens with the words “Interpretation concerning the ages which God has made: An age to conclude all that there is and all that will be.” 48. D. Flusser, “The Four Empires in the Fourth Sibyl and in the Book of Daniel,” Israel Oriental Studies 2 (1972), 148-175. Fragments of the Book of Daniel were found at Qumran, and the author of the War Scroll takes Daniel’s teachings as his point of origin in describing the political context of the war of the sons of light against the sons of darkness (see my “Apocalyptic Ele- ments in the War Scroll” herein). Despite all this, the doctrine of the four kingdoms is not reflected in the Qumran literature published thus far. Moreover, it is not found in the apocalyptic literature that emerged from the Essene circles, nor, indeed, in other major apocalyptic corpora. 49. Aside from Licht, “The Qumran Doctrine of Historical Epochs,” and Leisersohn, Estrutura y sentido, see A. Sabatier, “L’Apocalypse juive et la philosophie de l’histoire,” REJ 40 (1900), 65-86, who discusses the importance of the apocalyptic for historical thinking.

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The Essenes reached important theoretical and ideological conclusions from the existence of preordained historical periods, not least of which is their belief in predestination. More generally, the periodization of history is one of the keys to the Qumran community’s worldview: every period requires its own distinct approach, an approach to be determined by what is revealed to the community.50 It was incumbent upon the Essenes, then, to “fulfill the will of God in compliance with all revelation for every period, to acquire all the wisdom that has been gained according to the periods and the decree of the period” (1QS 9.13-14). In other words, each individual Essene must constantly formulate a new position toward the events of his day. The members of the Qumran community were undoubtedly eager to gather information about the historical events affecting Israel and the world as a whole, in part due to their revolutionary and anti-imperialist orientation, with its aversion to repression and injustice. Their lively interest in political and social developments marks them as important witnesses to the internal clashes within the Jewish people, as well as the power struggles between different nations. This information finds its way into the Essene pesharim, which thus become an important and even unique tool for the historical study of the era. Through the Essenes’ firm and unwaver- ing anti-imperialist position, the pesharim convey to us not only the voice of a Jewish sect, but the insistent protests of all the masses across the globe who suffered, or were at the risk of suffering, from Rome’s conquests and aggression.

VIII

Pesher Habakkuk appears to have been composed while Israel was under serious threat from the Roman empire, but before its realization with Pompey’s political intervention and military conquest of Jerusalem. Pesher Nahum, however, was written after this terrible trauma, and in it we find that the Essenes — like the rest of the Jewish people — hope that the wicked Roman regime will eventually pass away. Thus the Essene interpreter of Nahum 1:4 (“He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and he dries up all the rivers”) suggests that the first hemistich indicates God will “carry out judgment against them and eliminate them from the face of the earth,”while the rivers refer to “their chiefs, whose rule he will end” (1QpNah, fragment 2, 2-5). Pesher Habakkuk,

50. See Licht, “The Qumran Doctrine of Historical Epochs,” 65, and Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” 2-3 above.

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in contrast, makes no mention of the end of Rome, but rather looks toward a different historical event, namely that the wealth amassed by the last priests of Jerusalem will be given to the Romans (1QpHab 9.4-7). Pesher Habakkuk, then, concentrates on its hostile description of the Roman empire and of its conquests; aside from the one issue just cited, the scroll contains no specifically Jewish perspective on Rome. In this respect, Pesher Nahum may be seen as an uninterrupted series of the anti-Roman arguments dating from the first half of the first century b.c.e., and voiced across the globe by those threatened by Rome.51 The discovery of the pesher, then, provides us with another witness to the resistance toward — and criticism of — Rome. The great advantage of the Pesher is that it provides us with criticism of Rome directly from those formulating it. As Jewish history and the history of other nations teach, the opposition to Rome was not merely verbal and ideological, but at times quite active, in the form of rebellions and wars instigated by the conquered people. These actions were motivated by the hope that the Roman threat could be removed, its yoke tossed off, or perhaps outright destroyed. Needless to say, such hopes did not always lead to outright war and rebellion, and hatred for the Romans found expression in ideologies that were transmitted orally or in writing. Many a prophecy was sounded concerning the downfall of Rome among the nations it dominated from the east to the west. In addition, apocalyptic treatises were composed, fueled by the hope for revenge, announcing the downfall of Rome and redemption of its victims. However, these texts have not reached us directly.52 This was, after all, revolutionary literature, the samizdats of the day, and the reading or dissemi- nation of such writings was prohibited; Augustus even commanded that two thousand such works be burned.53 It would appear that some non-Jewish prophecies against Rome are reflected in the Greek Sibylline Oracles,54 but in their final form these are Jewish-Christian works,55 so it is difficult to ascer-

51. See Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 36 n. 19; 66 n. 77; and p. 5. 52. On the Egyptian prophecy see S. K. Eddy, The King Is Dead (Lincoln, NE, 1961), 292- 294. This prophecy is only extant in Greek fragments from a translation dating to the first century b.c.e. It probably is not relevant to our discussion since most scholars date its composition to the third century b.c.e. 53. See H. Windisch, Die Orakel des Hystaspes (Amsterdam, 1929), 31-33. 54. I discussed the anti-Greek prophecy in the fourth book of the Sibylline Oracles in “The Four Empires in the Fourth Sibyl and the Book of Daniel.”It appears the oracle was composed by a Jew. 55. Fuchs (Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 7-8 and 35 n. 20) discussed the famous prophecy found in the third book of the Sibylline Oracles, lines 350-361. This prophecy reflects the eastern nation’s desire for revenge against conquering Rome. A. Kurfess (Sibyllinische Weis- sagungen [Heimeran, 1951], 294) suggests that lines 350-355 reflect a pagan prophecy, but lines

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tain whether the gentile oracles are preserved in them “as is” or have undergone Jewish or Christian adaptation. It appears, then, that the only direct testimonies of opposition to the Roman empire, expressed by nations under Rome’s rule and whose authenticity is not in question, are Jewish — be they part of rabbinic literature or from other Jewish sources.56 Most of these sources crystallized after the destruction of the Second Temple, so that the pre-70 testimony of the Essene Pesharim — including Pesher Habakkuk — is of particular importance. Not only do they provide a context in which to examine the broader, non-Jewish resistance to Rome, they also shed light on the question, To what extent does the post-destruction hatred of Rome have its roots in earlier religious tendencies? To the direct and indirect evidence for Rome-hatred we may add one more literary genre. As early as the second century b.c.e. there is evidence that the Romans were aware of the universal ire they provoke. Cicero refers to “the almost justified hatred against our kingdom,” on account of the rapacious behavior of the Roman provincial rulers. He goes on to say that the Ro- man people can no longer bear the tears, the moaning, and the complaints of all the other nations.57 Indeed, Roman history books provide information concerning the complaints of these nations, citing them in the epistles and orations of Rome’s enemies.58 To be sure, these epistles and orations were in fact written by the Roman authors themselves. Nonetheless, the literary documents in question express their lethal criticism of Rome’s rapacity in an accurate and undistorted manner. One of the great contributions of Pesher Habakkuk lies in its demonstration of the great similarity — to be discussed below — between the Roman historical writings and the hostile description of the Roman empire in an authentic Jewish text. In what follows we steer clear of the “messianic” element of the hatred toward Rome, instead focusing on Pesher Habakkuk’s critique of Roman imperialism — this being both the core topic of the Pesher, and the main theme of the present study.

256-261, concerning the future debasement of the “virgin of Rome,”were composed by a Jewish author. Lines 257-259 contain a motif similar to that found in Revelation 18:3. 56. For a discussion of these sources see Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 62-73, and n. 77. Needless to say, Fuchs’s analysis is not exhaustive. We are still waiting for a thorough and penetrating study of Jewish resistance to Rome, not from a Jewish perspective, but rather as part of a broader anti-Roman sentiment shared by Jews and non-Jews alike. 57. See Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 44-45 n. 45. 58. These are the Roman historical sources relevant to our discussion: C. Iulius Caesar, Bellum Gallicum, ed. O. Seel (Leipzig, 1968); C. Sallustius Crispus, Catalina, Iugurtha, fragmenta ampliora, ed. A. Kurfess (Leipzig, 1972); Cornelius Tacitus II, ed. E. Köstermann (Leipzig, 1970); M. Iuniani Iustini, Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi, ed. O. Seel (Leipzig, 1972).

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Clearly, persistent motifs of outrage are not simply the products of ideology, since this ideology grew in a desperate soul. Still, these particular complaints, voiced by one and all, are also the result of a selection process that involves both the given reality and the hatred felt toward Rome. These sources make no mention of the positive influence of Rome.59 There are a number of anti-Roman arguments preserved in the Latin literature that largely parallel the criticism of Pesher Habakkuk. According to one Roman author, Demetrius king of Illyria complained to Philip of Macedon concerning Rome: they are not content to remain within the borders of Italy and are driven by evil aspirations to conquer the entire world, as if the existence of a king outside their empire were a sin.60 In Julius Caesar’s account of the Gallic war, the author attributes to a fiercely anti-Roman warrior a speech in which he claims that jealousy of noble warriors drives Rome to try to conquer their cities and enslave them for all time. When the Roman historian Tacitus describes the Roman conquest of Britain, he places in the mouth of a British warrior a fascinating diatribe against Rome: the Romans are robbers stealing from the whole world, but after destroying the earth they scurry for the seas as neither east nor west can sate their terrible appetite.61 They call raids, robbery, and murder by the euphe- mism ‘kingdom,’ and once they have razed a country they call this ‘peace.’ He then goes on to mention the Roman taxes and the harsh labor the vanquished must endure in the fields, the mines and the ports that have fallen into Roman hands. The great Roman author, Sallust, has King Jugurtha convince another African king to become his ally against Rome by arguing that the Romans are scoundrels, greedy to the very core of their being, and the common enemy of all mankind. Rome fights against foreign nations because they hunger for political power, seeking out the wealthy and making of them Rome’s enemies. The same Sallust also composed a text that sheds light both on the anti- imperialist criticism of Rome in Pesher Habakkuk, and on the praise of Ro- man power in 1 Maccabees. I am referring to the epistle of Mithridates the King of Pontus, the sworn enemy of Rome. The epistle is supposedly intended for the Parthian king:62

59. See, however, the account of Pompeius Trogus, whose book preserves many echoes of the anti-Roman polemic. He concludes his book with the statement that when Augustus conquered the world, the wild and barbaric Spaniards were finally transformed by Roman law into a more cultured way of life (Justine, Book 44, 5.8). 60. Justinian, Book 29, 2.1-4. 61. Caesar, The Gallic War, Book 7, 77.15. See also Fuchs, Der geistige Widerstand gegen Rom, 47 n. 52. 62. The epistle is preserved in Sallust’s great historical work, only small parts of which survive. Modern editions mark it as “F. IV 69.”

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The Romans have one ancient reason for fighting against all nations, people, and kings, that being a deep lust for power and wealth...since the ocean blocked their westward progress, they have turned their arms toward us [i.e. eastward]. From the outset they amassed all their wealth by robbing homes, women, fields and kingdom...theywerecreatedasa plague upon the world. Nothing, neither man nor god, can stop them from looting and corrupting their friends and allies, be they weak or powerful, be they near or far. They see all who refuse to willfully submit to them as enemies — especially the kingdoms...theRomans aim their weapons against one and all, and with terrible aggression turn on those whose defeat promises Rome the greatest reward. They reached their glory by their daring and their deceit, and an endless chain of wars.63

This is the closest and fullest parallel to the Pesher Habakkuk criticism of the Romans. Especially noteworthy is that Mithridates’ epistle states explicitly that the Romans gained their power by deceit, or, as Pesher Habakkuk would have it (3.5-6): “all their thoughts are premeditated to do evil, and with cunning and treachery they behave towards all the nations.” In 1 Maccabees this rather questionable mode of conquest is transformed into a positive trait: “They had conquered the whole region through their sagacity and perseverance” (8:4). The author of 1 Maccabees further praises Rome as a faithful ally, while the epistle of Mithridates describes them as robbing and destroying their friends and allies, both near and far. Past Roman conquests appear in parallel lists in both 1 Maccabees and the epistle of Mithridates, but serving opposite purposes. Both 1 Maccabees and Sallust64 mention Philip and Perseus, the Greek kings, as well as Antiochus III of Syria and Eumenes King of Pergamum. According to the former source, the Romans defeated Philip and Perseus who rose up against them, while Antiochus led a great army against Rome but was vanquished and many of his lands were given to Eumenes. Thus, the Romans defeat those who attack them (see also verses 9-11) and the transfer of lands is proof of Rome’s beneficence toward its allies.65 How very different is the portrait in the epistle of Mithridates! There the list serves as proof of Rome’s unfettered desire for power, of its greed, and more than anything else of its faith- lessness. When the Romans were concerned by the threat from Carthage,

63. 5.17. 64. Sallust, §§5-9. 65. The praises of Rome are reminiscent of King Agrippa’s speech in Josephus’s Jewish War 2.361-387. There, however, the topic is Rome’s might and the speaker hopes to show that the rebellion does not stand a chance.

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they pretended to be friends of King Philip of Macedon; when the danger passed, they waged war against him. When Antiochus rushed to Philip’s aid, they tempted him with concessions in Asia, but after defeating Philip they took many of Antiochus’s lands and stole great riches from him. When they defeated Philip’s son, Perseus, they promised to spare his life, but ultimately used deception to cause his death. As for Eumenes, king of Pergamum, the Romans first offered him to Antiochus as a prize for keeping the peace, then entrusted him with some of the lands of the vanquished Antiochus, then they humiliated and robbed so that he went from being a king to the most wretched of slaves, ultimately taking Asia Minor for themselves through deceit and machinations. And this is the man in whose friendship Rome glo- ries! There is no question that the Essene author of Pesher Habakkuk was of a piece with the arguments that Sallust attributes to Mithridates, sworn enemy of Rome, both with regard to Rome’s treatment of other nations and to its motivations. Clearly, then, there is a correlation between the claims against Rome voiced by Pesher Habakkuk, and those that Latin authors attribute to the enemies of Rome. The similarity indicates that the Roman writers accurately conveyed the complaints of Rome’s victims, as the author of Pesher Habakkuk is himself an important representative of the anti-Roman ideology as such. But the significance of Pesher Habakkuk — and Pesher Nahum as well — is particularly great inasmuch as they provide evidence for a pre-70 Jewish polemic against Rome. The period after the destruction of the Second Temple provides us many anti-Roman Jewish texts, from the sublime to the ridiculous. And while these texts — all of which are dated after the Essene pesharim — clearly express the particularly religious aspect of Jewish resistance to Rome, they also represent the general hostility of the peoples under Roman domination. The continuity between Pesher Habakkuk’s vicious critique of Rome and later, post-70 voices, is demonstrated by a parallel passage in 4 Ezra, written some thirty years after the destruction of the Second Temple:

You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with much terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have dwelt on the earth with deceit. And you injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed all the dwellings of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the wall of those who did you no harm. And so your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One. And the Most High

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has looked upon his times, and behold, they are ended, and his ages are completed. (4 Ezra 11.40-44)

To be sure, this is a more abstract description than the rich and detailed language of Pesher Habakkuk — but it follows the same blueprint. A key element highlighted in Pesher Habakkuk but absent in 4 Ezra is the economic aspect of Rome’s wickedness. Both texts speak of the “fear and dread” Rome strikes in the hearts of “all the peoples” (1QpHab 3.2-5 and 4.7-8), since they “held sway over the world with much terror” (4 Ezra 11.40); Rome rules through scheming, for “all their thoughts are premeditated to do evil, and with cunning and treachery they behave towards all the nations” (1QpHab 3.5-6). The Essene author also states that they “despise the fortresses of the peoples and with derision laugh at them, they surround them with a huge army to capture them. And through dread and fear they surrender into their hands” (1QpHab 4.5-8), a motif that recurs in 4 Ezra: “you have destroyed all the dwellings of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the wall of those who did you no harm” (4 Ezra 11.42). It is certainly possible that the author is recalling the destruction visited upon the land of Israel and the temple some thirty years earlier,66 but the Jewish seer does not speak here for Israel alone; he identifies with all the victims of Roman imperialism. The fourth kingdom rules the land with injustice, torments the poor and distresses the peaceful, hates men of truth and loves the liars. 4 Ezra expresses its compassion for all the victims of the wicked kingdom more explicitly than does Pesher Habakkuk.

We have just seen the affinity between Pesher Habakkuk and the anti-Roman polemic in 4 Ezra. From the outset, then, when it first suffered under Roman aggression, Israel became the chief spokesman against the empire. It was not, however, unique, as other sources attest. Pesher Habakkuk is an important witness to the anti-Roman ideology that had spread through these nations as early as the second century b.c.e. It faithfully reflects the arguments against Rome voiced by those who experienced the dreadful cruelty of Roman imperialism. The work is of particular importance inasmuch as it is apparently the earliest witness to a Jewish polemic against Rome, as well as the first witness to a Jewish expectation of the future downfall of the empire. Pesher Habakkuk fits well with the chorus of voices crying out against

66. See the discussion in J. Licht, Fourth Ezra (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1968), 70.

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the suffocating power of Rome, a striking exemplar of the resistance to imperialism as such, voices that are still heard to this day.67 Needless to say, these expressions of protest were one-sided, just as the pro-empire ideology propa- gated by Rome itself focused exclusively on the light while ignoring the readily apparent dark sides of Rome’s world dominance. In this context it should be noted that the Roman empire played a positive role in advancing civilization, establishing peace and developing the legal system. The Jews recognized these achievements, as we see from the Babylonian Talmud, where the cultural and judicial contributions of Rome are recognized, even though, as Rabbi Isaac says: “What is the meaning of the verse ‘If favor is shown to the wicked they will not learn righteousness’ (Isa. 26:10)? [The patriarch] Isaac said to the Holy One Blessed be He: ‘Master of the Universe, show grace upon Esau [the rabbinic symbol of Rome].’ God said to him, ‘He is wicked.’ [Isaac] said, then he ‘will not learn righteousness.’ Said God, ‘In the land of upright- ness [= Israel] they deal perversely’ (ibid.). Said Isaac, If so, let them ‘not see the majesty of the Lord’ (ibid.)” (Tractate Megillah 6a).68 But even if we recognize the positive aspects of this great kingdom, we cannot but feel sympathy for those who long ago rose up against the injustice this superpower visited upon so many nations, but aversion to the praise of

67. Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1949 play Romulus der Grosse takes up the same theme. In it, the last emperor knowingly causes the collapse of the empire since Rome has become a world kingdom, i.e., an institution that has committed “public murder, robbery, oppression and looting at the expense of other nations” (Zurich, 1980; Act 3, p. 77, and see also pp. 91-92). 68. W. Z. Bacher, Die Agada der palästinensischen Amoräer (Strasbourg, 1896), 2.230, provides a penetrating discussion of Rabbi Isaac’s dictum, and see also 226 n. 3. On the statement of Rabbi Hama bar Hanina concerning the Germanic tribes threatening Rome (b. Megillah 6b — immediately following Rabbi Isaac’s comments), see Bacher, Agada der palästinensischen Amoräer (Strasbourg, 1892), 1.455 n. 4. Bacher believes that the more original version of this statement is found in Genesis Rabba 75 (p. 887 in the Theodor-Albeck edition). There is a fascinating polemic against Roman imperialism, very much in the spirit of Pesher Habakkuk, in the Midrash Psalms to Psalm 104:25-26: “‘Yonder is the sea, great’ — this refers to the kingdom of Edom; ‘and wide’ — that it widens its dominance of the world; ‘creeping things innumerable are there’ — they reproduce like insects; ‘living things both small and great’ — this refers to the Roman military commanders, the duces, the prefects, and the generals; ‘There go the ships’ — these are the ships they send to Israel with their destructive decrees; ‘the Leviathan that you formed to sport in it’ — whoever allies himself with them will be sported with, in the time to come” (Midrash Tehillim, Buber edition 445-446). Buber rightly notes that the Hebrew word for ships, }oniyot, is midrashically read as though it were derived from the Greek ân©, meaning a re- ceipt of sale, and see Jacob Lewy’s Wörterbuch, s.v.: ynwa. The midrash itself is written in the pesher format, and, interestingly, its author interprets “the sea” as referring to Rome, just as Pesher Nahum did previously. See the discussion of Pesher Nahum at the beginning of section VIII, above.

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Roman might in 1 Maccabees. It is striking that the laudatory words of 1 Maccabees are so similar to the rebuke of Pesher Habakkuk, failing to mention the very issues for which the Roman rule truly deserved praise. The author of this questionable passage seems to assume that it is better to forge an alliance with the unfettered, aggressive and rapacious power of Rome, since this is an empire that is faithful to its allies. As such, Roman might will not harm the Jewish people, but to the contrary: its terrific force will be channeled solely for their benefit. Future events will show just how fundamentally and tragically mistaken this view really was. Be all that as it may, the description of Rome’s greatness in 1 Maccabees is the oddest such praise to reach us. To my mind, it proves that the power of worship, detached from any moral consideration and clear sense of future events, is a losing proposition. Pesher Habakkuk, on the other hand, was composed by a group with an acute sense of justice, very sensitive to social iniquities, and a deep disdain for looting under the auspices of the state. It is clear, then, why the Essenes could rightly recognize the dark underbelly of Roman imperialism, which would threaten all. Pesher Habakkuk, then, stands out as an important historical attestation of the anti-Roman ideology within the Jewish people and, indeed, within the ancient world.69

69. The Essene sensitivity to justice among nations finds its expression in 1Q27, known as the Book of Mysteries: “Do not all nations loathe the yoke? And yet, they all walk about under its influence. Does not praise of the truth come from the mouth of all nations? And yet, is there perhaps one lip or tongue which persists in it? What people would wish to be oppressed by another more powerful than itself? Who would wish to be sinfully looted of its wealth? And yet, which is the people not to oppress its neighbor? Where is the people which has not looted another of its wealth?” (1Q27 1.8-12). The same paradox is found in “I see the better course and approve, but follow its defeat” (Metamorphoses 7.20-21; Brookes translation). Similarly we find in Paul’s epistle to the Romans: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate....ForIknowthat nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Rom. 7:15, 18-20). Paul’s view is quite similar to that of the Essenes, and may reflect the influence of classical Greek thought, and Stoic philosophy in particular. For a discussion, see my “The ‘Book of the Mysteries’ and the High Holy Days Liturgy,” in the present volume.

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15. The Eschatological Temple

Dedicated to my friend Shmuel Safrai, on the occasion of his 80th birthday

The last chapter in my book on Jesus deals with two Jewish approaches to the end of days: one found in Jewish apocalyptic literature, the other in the writings of the rabbinic sages. Both describe the world to come in fundamentally similar terms: it will be a post-historical era, the time of a new creation, the resurrection of the dead and the great day of judgment; in the end of days, a new Jerusalem will be established, in which God himself will construct a new and everlasting temple.1 Judaism is not, of course, based on binding dogmas, so not all Jews accepted this conceptual construct in its entirety.2 A concise summary of the Jewish view of the eschaton is found in the opening of the Qaddish “Who Renews” (aodj yd), which I cite here according to the prayer book of Rav Sa}adia Gaon (p. 350):3 “Who will renew the

1. See D. Flusser, “The Stages of Redemption History,”in Jesus (Jerusalem, 1998), 258-275; idem, “Two Notes on the Midrash on 2 Sam vii,” in Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, 88- 93. The Qumran writings contain an entire scroll dedicated to the temple, including the eschatological temple, i.e., the Temple Scroll. See Elisha Qimron, The Temple Scroll (Jerusalem, 1996), 44. Other relevant material is found in the Qumran Hodayot, and see also volume I of Abraham Kahana’s Hebrew edition of the apocrypha (ha-Sefarim ha-Hitzonim [Jerusalem, 1978]); D. Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature.” 2. See the Shavel edition of Nachmanides’ works (Jerusalem, 1964), 306. 3. After the blessing Rav Sa’adia Gaon writes: “There are those who recite this qaddish after a burial service, but this is not the core meaning.” Nonetheless, the custom has taken root in Jewish communities, except those that say this qaddish after the completion of a Talmud tractate. Aside from Rav Sa’adia Gaon, the custom is attested in the prayer book of Maimonides and of the Yemenite community, and see D. Goldschmidt, “Maimonides’ Prayer Book ,”in Studies in Prayer and Piyyut, 203: “A quorum of ten or more Jews who studies the Oral Law, or even biblical exege-

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world and resurrect the dead,4 he will establish the city of Jerusalem and beautify the temple, and uproot the worship of idols [literally: created things], then bringing about a love for the worship of God.” Another description of what Israel can expect after the new creation is cited in the name of Rabbi Elazar of Modi{in (early second century c.e.), in his interpretation of Exodus 16:25: “If you will succeed in keeping the Sab- bath, the Holy One, blessed be He, will give you six good portions: The land of Israel, the future world, the new world, the Kingdom of the house of David, the priesthood, and the Levites’ offices. Thus [Scripture] states, ‘eat it today’.”5 True, the list does not explicitly mention the new Jerusalem and the reconstructed temple, but they are undoubtedly included in ‘the Kingdom of the house of David,’ and ‘the priesthood.’ On the other hand, the list in the “Who Renews” qaddish does not describe the act of new creation (but rather states it as something that will happen in the future), an act that is necessary for all the events it enumerates. A new creation is already mentioned as early as Isaiah 65:17: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (and see also 66:22). This idea gained wide currency in the apocalyptic and eschatological literature in both the Second Temple period and post-70.6 A survey of the relevant sources indicates that the concept of a new Jerusalem and an eschatological temple developed in the wake of the destruction of the first temple and the return of the Babylonian exiles.7 The sages recognize three distinct temples: the first temple, the second temple, and the eschatological temple, which will be built by God’s own hand, as it is written: “the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established” (Exod. 15:17). The Qumran community also recognized three temples; however the second of these did not correspond to the temple that stood in their day, since they considered it a fundamental error, an impure place that could

sis or homiletic teachings, when they complete their study one of them stands and recites qaddish asfollows...”This qaddish is also recited following the reading of the Torah in S. Tal, The Liturgy of the Jews of Persia (Jerusalem, 1981), 236; and in the text of the Aleppo Codex. 4. The Essenes, and affiliated groups, believed that individual souls do go on to the world to come where they receive their reward or punishment, according to the final judgment; they did not, however, believe in a physical resurrection. On the Essenes’ eschatological beliefs see Josephus, BJ 2.154-158, and the important article by G. Grelot, “La géographie mythologique d’Enoch au pays des aromates,” Revue Biblique 65 (1958), 33-69. 5. Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, trans. J. Z. Lauterbach (Philadelphia, 1933), 2.120. 6. See 1 Enoch 45.4-6; 91.15-17; 17.28-29; Jubilees 1.15-17, 26-29; 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra (and see my book on Jesus, 270-272); 1QHodayot 19.14; 21.11-14. 7. See my article, “The Stages of Redemption History.”The concept is also attested in the New Testament: 2 Peter 3.10-13; Revelation 20:11–21:14, and see also 2 Corinthians 5:17.

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not house the divine spirit.8 In its stead, they offer a proper temple, i.e., the one whose structure and cultic rituals are described in the Temple Scroll. And indeed, we find in this text mention both of the proper temple that is intended to replace the corrupt structure in Jerusalem, and of the eschatological temple:

7. I shall accept them. They shall be for me a people and I will be for them forever; and I shall dwell 8. with them for ever and always. I shall sanctify my temple with my glory, for I shall make my glory reside 9. over it until the day of creation,9 when I shall create my temple, 10. establishing it for my self for all days, according to the covenant that I made with Jacob at Bethel. (11Q19 [= 11QTemple] 29.7-10)10

This passage is very similar to the opening chapter of the Book of Jubi- lees, so much so that there may be a literary connection between the two:11

Write for Moses from the first creation until my presence rests in their midst12 forever and ever. And the Lord will appear in the sight of all. And everyone will know that I am the God of Israel and the father of all the children of Jacob and king upon Mount Zion forever and ever. And Zion and Jerusalem will be holy....Fromthedayofthenewcreationwhenthe heaven and earth and all of their creatures shall be renewed according to the powers of heaven and according to the whole nature of earth, until the sanctuary of the Lord is created in Jerusalem upon Mount Zion, and all of the lights will be renewed for healing and peace and blessing for all the elect of Israel and in order that it might be thus from that day and unto all the days of the earth. (Jubilees 1.27-29)13

There are two elements common to this passage from Jubilees and the Temple Scroll: an ideal temple in the present, and a new creation in which God himself will forge the ultimate, eternal temple. Incidentally, these elements are also cited in the qaddish “Who Renews.” But what then happens with the proper temple, the one that replaces

8. See Flusser, Jesus, 268 n. 27, and 139 n. 12. 9. Compare 4Q225 (= 4QpsJuba), fragment 1.7: “until the [new] creation.” 10. See also Y. Yadin, The Temple Scroll (New York, 1985), 112-115. 11. Already noted by K. Berker, Das Buch der Jubilaen (Gutersloh, 1981), 310 n. e. 12. See the Temple Scroll 29.7-8: “I shall dwell with them.” 13. Translated by O. S. Wintermute in J. H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseud- epigrapha (New York, 1985), 2.54.

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the one now standing (assuming it does not perish with the world)? 1 Enoch 90.28-29 proposes one answer:14 the temple and all its vessels will be trans- ported to a southern location, while God builds a bigger and better temple in Jerusalem. This solution is reminiscent of the account in 1 Maccabees 4.43-46, regarding the impure altar stones that were removed from the temple during its dedication, and placed in an appropriate location on the Temple Mount. In the Temple Scroll, God says: “I shall make my glory reside over [the present temple] until the day of creation, when I shall create my temple, establishing it for myself for all days, according to the covenant which I made with Jacob at Bethel” (29.9-10). Clearly the reference here is not to Jacob’s second visit to Bethel (Gen. 35:6-7),15 when Jacob says of the site: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). This verse is the basis for the midrashic interpretation according to which Jacob saw the first temple in his vision at Bethel.16 The midrash builds on the opening of Jacob’s blessing to Benjamin, since the temple would be located in the latter’s tribal territory. The midrash opens: “‘[The High God] surrounds him’ — this refers to the First Temple; ‘all day long’ — this refers to the Second Temple; ‘[the beloved] rests between his shoulders’ — built and beautified in the future.”The Sifre then turns to discuss the three patriarchs, though it is evident that Abraham and Isaac are a secondary insertion, since it was Jacob who had a vision of the future temple while at Bethel. Unfortunately, all three midrashim concerning the patriarchs have been reworked into a uniform mold, in which each in turn “saw it built, saw it destroyed, and saw it rebuilt.” Only the last segment retains its original form, namely, the construction of the eschatological temple following the new creation, “he saw it built and beautified in the future.” This is the same temple referred to in the Qumran Temple Scroll. The original shape of the midrash is preserved only in the discussion of Benjamin. Note that the language here refers to a temple to be beautified for the future time, much as the qaddish “Who Renews” tells that God will, in the future, “beautify the temple.” In the text of the Sifre Deuteronomy we have before us today we find: “Similarly you find that Jacob saw it built, saw it destroyed and saw it rebuilt,

14. I do not know if the Enoch passage refers to the same issue, since it does not mention a new creation. 15. God’s covenant with Jacob is not mentioned by this name in either of his two excur- sions to Bethel. Perhaps the reference is to God’s words in Genesis 21:13-15? Whatever the answer, it appears that this is the covenant to which the Temple Scroll refers at 30.1-2, where the word qdkaw is still legible. 16. Sifre Deuteronomy §352, to Deuteronomy 33:12 (Hammer edition, p. 365). See also Genesis Rabba 4.5 (Theodor-Albeck edition, p. 18).

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as it is said: ‘and he was afraid,’ and said ‘How awesome is this place’ — indicating that it was built — ‘there is none’ — indicating that it was destroyed — ‘other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’ — indicating that he saw it built and beautified in the future.” However, I believe we can reconstruct with a fair degree of accuracy the original statement concerning Jacob, using the midrash on Benjamin: “And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place’ — this is the first temple, ‘This is none other than the house of God’ — this is the last [= second] temple, ‘and this is the gate of heaven’ — built and beautified in the future.”In any case, it is worth noting that both the Essenes and the sages speak of three temples — the first, the second, and the beautified eschatological temple. The difference between the two groups lies in their attitude toward the second temple: the Essenes considered it illegitimate and proposed an ideal temple in its stead. The most striking aspect of all this is that both the Essenes and the sages believed that after the new creation God himself would build a beautiful temple. Here, then, is one of the reasons — though certainly not the only one — that the destruction of the first temple was not experienced as such a trauma. Let us return now to the Temple Scroll. As noted,17 the scroll does not explicitly discuss the nature of the covenant forged between God and Jacob, perhaps because this is an issue discussed in a subsequent section that is no longer extant. It stands to reason that the scroll did not limit its discussion to the ideal temple that is slated to replace the Jerusalem structure (29.9-10), but referred also to the temple that will come about after the new creation. None- theless, I suspect that the author assumed that Jacob’s vision included the first temple as well. In order to more fully understand the meaning of the three temples both for the sectarian, Essene thought and for the rabbis, we should examine chapter 32 of 2 Baruch, which was composed circa 100 c.e., and is similar to 4 Ezra in time and in literary form. 2 Baruch was putatively composed by Baruch the scribe prior to the destruction of the first temple. Baruch announces that the temple in Jerusalem will soon be destroyed, but later rebuilt. However this second building too will fall, but rather be abandoned and razed until the end of days. God will then bring about a new creation and only then will the temple be renewed and formed as the most beautiful edifice in the world. There is a great similarity between this account and the description in the Qumran Temple Scroll, on the one hand, and the discussion of the third temple in the rabbinic midrash (as discussed above), on the other. Note that the Qumran scroll has God speaking of a new creation, “when I shall cre-

17. Above, n. 2.

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ate my temple, establishing it for my self for all days,”echoing the well-known rabbinic view that God would construct the eschatological temple with his own hands. Our study points to a number of conclusions. For one thing, we have here further evidence for a position that should have been clear long ago, namely, that many issues that are attested only post-70 need to be dated to Second Temple times. An example would be the sentence for the Jewish grace after meals: “The Merciful will see us to Messianic era and to the days of the world to come.”This is by all accounts a late addition to the grace after meals, but it is nonetheless significant in that it reflects the tripartite division into this world, the messianic era, and the world to come. This same division is attested at least as early as the first century c.e., and is found in the teachings of Jesus18 and the rabbinic sages; indeed, it is common down to this very day. In the eschatological and apocalyptic literature — including the Essene writings — we find the view that this world to come will emerge from a new creation — as stated in the qaddish “Who Renews”: “Who will renew the world and resurrect the dead,19 he will establish the city of Jerusalem and beautify the temple.”Column 29 of the Temple Scroll is the final proof that the belief in an eschatological temple was already circulating during Second Temple times. What is unique about the Essene perspective is their belief that the Second Temple was illegitimate, so they described an ersatz earthly temple and then used their rich (and utopian) imagination to describe this edifice in the Tem- ple Scroll. However, we must also keep in mind that the Essenes formulated an obligatory set of dogmas, while other Jews were not committed to a strict and consistent set of beliefs.

Addendum

In chapter 17 of Seder {Olam we find: “And in the second year of Ahaziahu, Elijah was hidden away and is not seen until the Messiah comes, and in the messianic era he is seen but then hidden a second time and not seen until the advent of Gog. And now he writes the events of all the generations.”This mys- terious statement was discussed by Meir Friedmann in the introduction to his

18. See also my Jesus. 19. The Essenes, and affiliated groups, believed that individual souls do go on to the world to come where they receive their reward or punishment, according to the final judgment; they did not, however, believe in a physical resurrection. On the Essenes’ eschatological beliefs see Josephus, BJ 2.154-158, and the important article by G. Grelot, “La géographie mythologique d’Enoch au pays des aromates,” Revue Biblique 65 (1958), 33-69.

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edition of Tanna de-Bei Eliyahu, p. 25. It seems to me that dual advents are the result of some vacillation that came about from the combination of two eschatological views, when the messianic age was inserted between this world and the world to come.20 The same doubling is found in the Book of Revela- tion (20:8), which describes Gog and Magog after an intermediary millen- nium, but prior to the final judgment and new creation of chapter 21. An- other fascinating passage is found in Acts 3:20-23, though this is undoubtedly rooted in an Elijah tradition, as other scholars have duly noted.21

20. See my Jesus. 21. See O. Bauernfeind in H. Conzelmann, Die Apostelgeschichte (Tübingen, 1963), 30. See also the words of Jesus concerning Elijah in Matthew 17:12 and Mark 9:11. In all these verses the Greek word for “restore” is found in the Septuagint to Malachi 3:24.

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16. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in Pesher Nahum

Usually when a new discovery is made that provides heretofore unknown historical information, the scholarly world is surprised by the new data and the light it sheds on the past, even though the discoveries tend to affirm the fidelity of the sources that had been known up to that point. This paradoxical response is the result of a consistent tendency within scholarly circles to underestimate the accuracy of historical sources, particularly those composed by ancient historians — even historians who have their own goals and agendas. The central challenge of analyzing secondary sources is not, then, the need to discount their often tendentious viewpoint as such, but rather that absent the primary sources it is difficult to identify the author’s perspective on the reality reflected in his writings. The Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the most interesting proofs for the above statement. There are, to be sure, a number of scholars who argue that the members of the Qumran community are not Essenes, and these views do sometimes find favor in the broader public. However, this is largely because those who see the Qumran community as Essenes are so confident in the identification that they no longer bother to gather supporting evidence. As one scholar has rightly noted, in the early days of Qumran scholarship, Josephus’s description of the Essenes was used to clarify the Qumran scrolls, but today, with the publication of additional scrolls and advances in research, the Qumran scrolls shed light on Josephus’s account of the Essenes. Indeed, the Essene writings demonstrate just how accurate Josephus was in describ-

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ing the community, what aspects of their life he passed over in silence, and how lacking such precision is in Philo’s historical writings. The scrolls indicate that Josephus writes as a responsible historian, while Philo is more of an apologetic midrashist. But while the discovery of the scrolls has provided answers for most of the questions raised by Josephus’s description of the Essenes, one major issue remains unanswered: is the division of Second Temple Jewish society into three schools a schematic construct invented by Josephus, or a more or less accurate reflection of the historical reality of the day? The publication of the Dead Sea Scroll known as Pesher Nahum indicates that it was not just Josephus who divided Jewish society into three schools — the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes — but the Essenes themselves adhered to this view. The central aim of this essay is to demonstrate the concord between Josephus and the Scrolls. In addition I will try to lay bare some of the interpretive tools the Essenes employed in dividing the Jewish landscape into Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. What follows is the extant text of Pesher Nahum.1

Column 1 1. [. . .] residence for the wicked of the nations. “Where the lion goes, and the lion’s cubs 2. [with no one to disturb them” (Nahum 2:11) Its interpretation concerns Deme]trius, king of Yavan, who wanted to enter Jerusalem on the advice of those looking for smooth interpretations (dorshei halakot). 3. [But he did not enter, for God had not given Jerusalem] into the hand of the kings of Yavan from Antiochus up to the appearance of the chiefs of the Kittim. But later, it will be trampled. 4. [. . .] “The lion has torn enough for his whelps and strangled prey for his lioness, 5. he has filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh”

1. The text was first published by J. Licht, “Additional Pages of Pesher Nahum” (Hebrew), Molad 19 (1961), 454-456, and see also my comments, 456-458. The following year, Allegro published the text along with a facsimile reproduction in “More Unpublished Pieces of a Qumran Commentary on Nahum,” JSS 7 (1962), 304-308. A. Dupont-Sommer has published three articles on Pesher Nahum: One in Journal des Savants (1963), 201-227; a second, “Le commentaire de Nahum découvert près de la Mer Morte (4 QpNah). Traduction et notes,” Semitica 13 (1963), 55- 88; and a third in Eretz Israel 8 (Sukenik Volume) (Jerusalem, 1967), 25-36. See also the excellent study by Amusin, “Ephraim et Manasse dans le pesher de Nahum (4QpNah),” Revue de Qumran 4 (1963), 389-396.

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(Nahum 2:12). [The interpretation of the matter] concerns the Angry Lion who struck (together) with his nobles and the men of his council 6. [the simple folk of Ephraim. And concerning what he says: “he has filled] his caves [with prey] and his den with torn flesh,” its interpretation concerns the Angry Lion 7. [who filled his cave with a mass of corpses, carrying out rev]enge against those looking for smooth interpretations, who hanged living men 8. [from the tree, committing an atrocity which had not been committed] in Israel since ancient times, for it is [hor]rible for the one hanged alive from the tree. “See, I am against [you], 9. says the [Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke,] and the sword shall devour your young lions. [I will] cut off your prey [from the earth], 10. [and the] voice [of your messengers] shall be heard no more” (Nahum 2:13). Its interpretation: “Your chariots” are his gangs of soldiers [. . .]; “his young lions” are 11. his nobles [and the members of his council...]and“hisprey”is the wealth which [the priests] of Jerusalem accu[mulated] which 12. they will deliver [. . . E]phraim, will be given Israel [. . .]

Column 2 1. And his messengers are his emissaries, whose voice will no longer be heard among the nations. “Ah! City of bloodshed, utterly [deceitful], full of booty” (Nahum 3:1). 2. Its interpretation: it is the city of Ephraim, those looking for smooth interpretations, in the final days, since they walk in treachery and lies. 3. “No end to the plunder! The crack of whip and rumble of wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, 4. piles of dead, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end — they stumble over the bodies!” (Nahum 3:1-3). Its interpretation concerns the rule of those looking for smooth interpretations, 5. from whose assembly the sword of the gentiles will not be lacking, nor captivity or looting, nor fire among them, nor exile for fear of the enemy; a mass 6. of guilty corpses will fall in their days; there will be no end to the tally of the wounded and they will even trip over their bodies of flesh because of their guilty counsel.

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7. “Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute, gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery, who enslaves nations through her debaucheries, and peoples through her sorcery” (Nah 3:4). 8. [Its] interpretation concerns the misleaders from Ephraim, who with their fraudulent teaching and lying tongue and perfidious lip misdirect many: 9. kings, princes, priests and people together with the proselyte attached to them. Cities and clans will perish through their advice, nobles and leaders 10. will fall [due to the fero]city of their tongues. “I am against you, says the Lord of hosts, you will lift up 11. [your] skirts over your face; and I will let the nations look on your nakedness and kingdoms [on your] shame” (Nah 3:5). Its interpretation [. . .] 12. [. . .] the cities of the east, because “your skirts” [. . .]

Column 3 1. The nations with their uncleanness and with their detestable abominations. “I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you 2. a spectacle. Then all who see you will shrink from you” (Nah 3:6-7). 3. Its interpretation concerns those looking for smooth interpretations, whose evil deeds will be exposed to all Israel in the final time; 4. many will fathom their sin, and will hate them and loathe them for their reprehensible arrogance. And when the glory of Judah is revealed 5. the simple people of Ephraim will flee from among their assembly and desert the ones who misdirected them and will join the majority of Israel. “They will say: 6. Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her? Where shall I seek comforters for you?” Its interpretation concerns those looking for 7. smooth interpretations, whose council will die and whose society will be disbanded; they shall not continue misdirecting the assembly and simple folk 8. shall no longer support their council. “Are you better than Amon that sat surrounded by rivers?” (Nah 3:8). 9. Its interpretation: Amon is Manasseh and the rivers are the great men of Manasseh, the honorable [people who surround] Manasseh. 10. “Water around her, her rampart a sea, water her wall” (Nah 3:8) 11. Its interpretation: they are her men at arms, her mighty warriors.

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“Ethiopia was her strength, Egypt too, and that without limit” (Nah 3:9). 12.[Itsinterpretation:]...“Putand[the Libyans were her helpers]

Column 4 1. Its interpretation: they are the wick[ed ones of Judah], the house of division (oyb glp), which consorted with Manasseh. “Yet she became an exile, she went into captivity; 2. even her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; lots were cast for her nobles, all her dignitaries were bound in 3. fetters” (Nah 3:10). Its interpretation concerns Manasseh, in the last time, in which his dominion over Israel will weaken [. . .] 4. his women, his children and his babies will go into captivity, his warriors and his honored ones [will perish] by the sword. [“you also will be drunken] 5. you will go into hiding” (Nah 3:11). Its interpretation concerns the wickedofE[phraimwho...] 6. whose cup will come after Manasseh [. . . “You will seek] 7. a refuge from the enemy” (Nah 3:11). Its interpretation concerns [...] 8. their enemies in the city, [. . . “All your fortresses are like 9. fig trees wi[th young fruit” . . .]

Even before the publication of Pesher Nahum there were scholars who suggested that Qumran scrolls use dorshei halakot, “those looking for smooth interpretations,” as a reference to the Pharisees. The people referred to in this way are presented as hypocrites, lacking integrity. Elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls there is repeated reference to the deceptive ways of the dorshei halakot, and in particular the lies they use when speaking to the people. Within Pesher Nahum their doctrines are referred as “fraudulent teaching” (2.8). And we find other Second Temple sources that refer to the Pharisees — or at least some of them — as hypocrites. This charge is leveled by Alexander Jannaeus, the Sad- ducee king (b. Sotah 22b), in rabbinic literature, and in the teachings of Jesus.2 It is not the goal of the present study to examine the historical circumstances that gave rise to this accusation. I will only note that the rabbis adhere to the Pharisee teachings, and that Jesus too says that the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat

2. See my comments appended to Licht, “Additional Pages,” 458.

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(Matt. 23:2-3), that is, that one is to abide by their teachings though not by their actions. The Qumran community, in contrast, is vehemently opposed to the Pharisee doctrines, to their “fraudulent teaching.” The Scrolls generally, and Pesher Nahum in particular, confirm the accounts of Josephus and the later rabbis, according to whom the Pharisees held the allegiance of the majority of the Jews3 — though this is seen as a terrible calamity. The Pharisee sages are characterized as involved in misdirection: “the misleaders from Ephraim, who with their fraudulent teaching and lying tongue and perfidious lip misdirect many: kings, princes, priests and people together with the proselyte attached to them. Cities and clans will perish through their advice, nobles and leaders will fall due to the ferocity of their tongue” (2.8-10). The tremendous influence of the Pharisee sages on mainstream Jewish society is seen by the Qumran community almost as the ancient enticements to idolatry in biblical times: the author of Pesher Hosea laments that Israel “listened to those who misdirected them and they acclaimed them, and feared them in their blindness like god” (4Q166 [= 4QpHosa] 2.5-6). As for Pesher Nahum, it voices the hope that “in the final time,” the “evil deed” of the dorshei halakot “will be exposed to all Israel” and the people will simply abandon them. In light of all that has been said, it appears the phrase dorshei halakot serves in the Qumran writings4 to indicate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in their preaching to Israel. It stands to reason, then, that the basic sense of this appellation is that the Pharisee doctrine is “fraudulent teaching,”that is, that

3. See my comments appended to Licht, “Additional Pages,” 457. 4. See Licht, Megillat ha-Hodayot, 74, as well as Dupont-Sommer’s argument in his arti- cleintheEretz Israel 8 (E. L. Sukenik Memorial Volume), 30. See also “all those who seek deceit” (1QHa 10.34), “[for speaker]s lure them, and mediators of deceit misdirect them” (1QHa 12.7), and “But they are mediators of fraud and seers of deceit, they have plotted a devilish thing against me...tochange your Law...forflattering teachings for your people” (1QHa 12.9-11). The Qumran community interpreted Isaiah 30:10 — “speak to us smooth interpretations, prophesy illusions” — as a reference to the Pharisees, and similarly “They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak” (Ps. 12:2). See also the phrase dorshei halakot, ‘the seekers after smooth interpretations’ as well as “the assembly of futility” (1QHa 14.5 and 15.34), “the Preacher of Deceit, who has misdirected many, building a useless city with blood and erecting a community with lies for his own glory, wearing out many by useless work” (1QpHab 10.9-11), “they search you with a double heart” (1QHa 12.14), and below, n. 10. In the opening of the War Scroll, the Jewish enemies of the Qumran community are referred to as “the violators of the covenant” (1QM 1.2). As Yadin notes in his edition, the phrase is taken from Daniel 11:32-34: “He [LXX, Theodotian, and Vulgate: they] shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant...andmanyshall join them insincerely.” It appears, then, that the phrase “the violators of the covenant,” which has its origins in Daniel, refers in the War Scroll to the same group that is elsewhere in the Scrolls called “those who seek after smooth interpretations,” that is, the Pharisees.

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they interpret the Torah hypocritically or smoothly. The Hebrew word midrash appears frequently in the Qumran writings, and indeed “midrash ha- torah,” ‘the study of the Law,’ is the goal of their journey into the desert (1QS 8.15). Similarly we find in the Manual of Discipline “And in the place in which the ten assemble there should not be missing a man to interpret the Law day and night always” (1QS 6.6-7). The heir of the Teacher of Righteous- ness is called ‘the interpreter of the Law’ (doresh ha-torah), and this is also the title of the Aaronite messiah in the future time.5 In light of these phrases it would appear that the Pharisees are characterized as “looking for smooth interpretations” because they study and preach the Torah using easy or smooth interpretations. All this makes the identification of the Scrolls’ dorshei halakot with the Pharisees almost certain,6 since they are the religious party that is suspected of hypocrisy and whose preaching is heard throughout the Jewish society of the day. However, the clearest proof of this matter appeared with the publication of the first column of Pesher Nahum, which discussed the fact that “Deme]trius, king of Yavan, . . . wanted to enter Jerusalem on the advice of those looking for smooth interpretations (dorshei halakot)” (1.2). In addition the column speaks of the Angry Lion, who sought “[. . . rev]enge against those looking for smooth interpretations, who hanged living men [from the tree, committing an atrocity which had not been committed] in Israel since ancient times” (1.6-8). There is no question but that these lines refer to the invasion of the Hellenistic king Demetrius in 89 b.c.e., who was invited by the Pharisees to do battle against Alexander Jannaeus. After the foreign king departed, Jannaeus hanged eight hundred Pharisees from a tree. To the evidence of the first column we must add the following from the second: “the rule of those looking for smooth interpretations, from whose assembly the sword of the gentiles will not be lacking, nor captivity or looting, nor fire among them, nor exile for fear of the enemy; a mass of guilty corpses will fall in their days; there will be no end to the tally of the wounded and they will even trip over their bodies of flesh because of their guilty counsel” (2.4- 6). This is a clear allusion to the rule of the Pharisees during the days of Queen Alexandra Salome. The dark description of the “rule of those looking for smooth interpretations” is not substantively different than Josephus’s description of the period. The pesher itself was undoubtedly composed when

5. CD 6.7; 7.18; 4QF 1.11. The designation is also part of the reconstruction of 4QPatr, line 5. On the “Interpreter of the law” (doresh ha-torah) as a historical and messianic figure, see my “Two Notes on the Midrash of 2 Sam vii,” IEJ 9 (1959), 104-109. 6. Support for this assumption is found in my Hebrew article published in Kiryat Sefer 33 (1958), 456-460.

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Israel was under Roman rule, since it speaks of the period from “the kings of Yavan from Antiochus up to the appearance of the chiefs of the Kittim” (1.3), the latter being a reference to the Romans. The founder of the Essene movement was a priest famously referred to as the “Teacher of Righteousness” (see the Pesher to Psalm 37 3.15-16; CD 1.11).7 Who then headed the Pharisees, those looking for smooth interpretations? The answer to this question is found in the Damascus Document, which speaks of the time when “the scoffer arose, who poured out over Israel water of lies and made them stray into the wilderness without path...sothat the curses of his covenant would adhere to them...fortheysought smooth interpretations...”(CD1.16-18).8 The individual known by the Essenes as “the scoffer” is also referred to as “the man of deceit” and “the Preacher of Deceit.” This catalogue of appellations, which suits the usual pejorative tone, allows us to uncover the Essene polemics aimed specifically against the Phari- sees. In Pesher Habakkuk (the relevant passages are 2.1-4; 5.8-12; 10.5-13), in Pesher Micah,9 and in the Damascus Document (namely, 1.12; 2.1; 4.19-21; 5.11-6.2; 8.12-13, 18; 20.10-12, 14-15), mention of the so-called Preacher of De- ceit and his followers, while the other polemic passages do not mention this Pharisee leader.10 The Hodayot include polemical statements against “media- torsofdeceit...thecongregationoftheseekers after flattering things (dorshei halakot)” (1QHa 10.31-32; see also 10.14-19, 22-23, 31-37; 12.7-12, 14-20; 14.5; 15.34).11 The Pesher Isaiah12 speaks of “the congregation of those looking for smooth interpretations who are in Jerusalem” (4Q163 [= 4QpIsac] 2.10-11), who are also referred to as “the arrogant men,”13 as in “the arrogant men who are in Jerusalem. They are the ones who ‘have rejected the instruction of the

7. Even though only the Damascus Document was known at the time, E. Meyer suggested that the Essenes — like all such orders — were founded by a prophetic individual, who proclaimed the teachings of the community, as well as the inspired interpretation of Scripture, and established the ordinances of the order. The name of this individual was, however, forgotten. See E. Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums (Berlin, 1921), 2.395. 8. See also my Qiryat Sefer article, 458. 9. See D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1 (Oxford, 1955), 78. 10. The Dead Sea Scrolls apply to the Preacher of Deceit the words of Ezekiel 13:8-12. See also CD 4.19; 8.12-13, 18; Hodayot 12.6-7 (following Licht’s correct reconstruction), and perhaps also Pesher Habakkuk 10.9-14. 11. In the last two, the pejorative phrase regularly applied to the opponents of the Qumran community designates Jewish society in general. Thus it would appear that at the time the Hodayot were composed, the majority of the Jewish world was affiliated with the group’s opponents. 12. A. M. Habermann, The Judean Scrolls (Hebrew), (Tel Aviv, 1959), 171-172. 13. This phrase is also applied to Pharisees in CD 20.11.

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Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel’ (Isa. 5:24)” (4Q162 [= 4QpIsab] 2.6-8). The author of Pesher Nahum speaks of the congregation of those looking for smooth interpretations (1.2, 7-8, 12; 2.1-3.8; 4.5), though in this text (as in the pesher to Psalm 37 2.16-20) the Pharisees are also referred to as ‘Ephraim.’ Parts of Pesher Hosea (2.3-6) also appear aimed at the Pharisees. Paralleling the Teacher of Righteousness, who founded the Qumran community, stands the “Preacher of Deceit,” depicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls as the founder of the congregation of those who seek after smooth interpretations: he has “misdirected many...erectingacommunity with deceit” (1QpHab 10.9-10). As Pesher Habakkuk clearly indicates (see 2.1-4; 5.9-11; 10.9-13), the “Preacher of Deceit” is a contemporary of the Teacher of Righ- teousness. It stands to reason that during the sect’s exile in Damascus,14 which apparently occurred after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness,15 it was persecuted by the community of the Preacher of Deceit, the latter being personally involved in this affair.16 All this, however, remains speculative. Another contemporary of the Teacher of Righteousness and the Preacher of Deceit is the man referred to as the Wicked Priest.17 Pesher

14. Contrary to a number of scholars, there is no doubt in my mind that ‘Damascus’ is to be understood literally, and certainly does not refer to Qumran. After all, the members of the community are “the converts of Israel, who left the land of Judah and lived in the land of Da- mascus” (CD 6.5, and see also 4.2-3), and Qumran is in “the land of Judah.” F. M. Cross argues that the paleographic data decisively prove that the Damascus Document was composed no later than the first half of the first century b.c.e. (The Ancient Library of Qumran [New York, 1961], 81-83). Moreover, he suggests that both the textual and archaeological evidence prove that the Qumran community was established between 150 and 100 b.c.e. (120-122), that is, between the reigns of Jonathan and Alexander Jannaeus. 15. It would appear that the Teacher of the Community, who was no longer alive when the Damascus document was composed (8.21–20.1, and 20.13-15), is in fact the Teacher of Righ- teousness. The latter is also mentioned in the Damascus Document (1.11; 20.28, 32). During the sect’s sojourn in Damascus, there emerged a new leader, an heir to the Teacher of Righteousness, who is referred to as the “Interpreter of the law” (doresh ha-torah). 16. The Damascus Document says the following regarding this matter: “For them there shall be no part in the house of the law. They shall be judged according to the judgment of the companions, who turned round with insolent men, for they spoke falsehood about the just regulations and despised the covenant...andthepactwhichtheyestablished in the land of Da- mascus, which is the new covenant. And neither for them nor their families shall there be a part in the house of the law. And from the day of the gathering in of the Teacher of the Community, until the end of all the men of war who turned back with the Man of Lies, there shall be about forty years” (CD 20.10-15). It appears, then, that the Man of Lies also spent some time in the Da- mascus diaspora. 17. The Wicked Priest is mentioned in Pesher Habakkuk, as well as the Pesher to Psalm 37 (4.8).

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Habakkuk relates that this figure “ruled over Israel” (1QpHab 8.9-10), and from the reports it is clear that the Scrolls are describing a high priest. He “pursued the teacher of righteousness” (1QpHab 11.5), and even sent to have him killed (4Q171 [= 4QpPsa] 4.8) — though the Essene leader survived the attempt (4Q171 [= 4QpPsa] 2.18-20; 4.9). We further are told that “he seized public money” (1QpHab 8.12), and thus is one of “the last priests of Jerusa- lem, who will accumulate riches and loot from plundering the nations. How- ever, in the last days their riches and their loot will be given into the hands of the army of the Kittim” (1QpHab 9.4-7), i.e., the Romans. We may conclude, then, that the Wicked Priest was one of the priests of the Hasmonean dynasty, prior to the Roman invasion of Israel. Moreover, it seems that his persecutions were not limited to the Essenes, but included the Pharisees as well, for he is described as having “robbed and hoarded wealth from the violent men who had rebelled against God” (1QpHab 8.11).18 If we could be sure that the Wicked Priest is another name for the Angry Lion of Pesher Nahum, the one who exacted “revenge against those looking for smooth interpretations, who hanged living men from the tree,” then we could identify the Wicked Priest who persecuted the Teacher of Righteousness as Alexander Jannaeus. This identification, however, is far from certain. We may infer, then, that from the time of its founding, by the Teacher of Righteousness, the Qumran sect was in a constant state of ideological conflict with two other parties: the Hasmonean priests, who sided with the Saddu- cees, and the Pharisee dorshei halakot. At times, tensions boiled over into outright hostilities and persecutions. After the Sadducees suffered two major set- backs — one in the days of Alexandra Salome, another in the days of Pompey — they became much less of a threat to the sect, and the Pharisees became their main opponents. The latter sought “to pour out [the Hodayot author’s] blood, because he was at your service” (1QHa 10.32-33), even demanding that he “desert your service from fear of destruction by the wicked and exchange a firm purpose for follies” (1QHa 10.36; see also 12.10-11).19

18. See also 1QHa “from the assembly of futility and from the council of violence” (14.5). The Wicked Priest also “plundered the possessions of the poor” (1QpHab 12.10), that is, of the members of the Qumran community. 19. We have already established that the Teacher of Righteousness, the founder of the community, was persecuted by Pharisees and Sadducees alike. To be sure, Pesher Nahum, which was composed under Roman rule, speaks of the evil deeds of the “angry lion,”that is Alexander Jannaeus. However, it also expresses its hate and disdain for the rule of those who seek after smooth interpretations. Pesher Isaiah attacks “the seekers after smooth interpretations that are in Jerusalem” while Hodayot includes reports of persecution at the hand of Pharisees. Paleographic analysis suggests the published Hodayot manuscript belongs to a relatively late

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It is almost definite that later on, apparently beginning with Herod and certainly during the Roman rule following Herod’s death — the Pharisee persecutions ended. In the days of Jesus the Pharisees were ashamed of their forefathers’ religious persecution, saying: “If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets” (Matt. 23:30). It appears the Essenes too converted their earlier activism (see, e.g., the War Scroll) into a qualified pacifism, adopting a passive and accommo- dating stance toward the forces governing this inherently corrupt world.20 Thus we find that both Philo and Josephus (a Pharisee) are able to praise the Essenes as wholly righteous men, whose fame has spread the world over.21 Thus far we have concentrated on the anti-Pharisee polemic within the scrolls. Now we must examine whether the Sadducees discussed in the Qumran texts are seen as a separate community, like the Pharisee dorshei halakot.

III

As noted, there have for some time been scholars who recognized an anti- Pharisee polemic in the Dead Sea Scrolls,22 a hypothesis verified with the publication of the first column of Pesher Nahum. This text demonstrates that the community referred to as those “looking for smooth interpretations” is undoubtedly the Pharisees. Pesher Nahum also refers to this group as “Ephraim” (1.12; 2.2, 8; 3.5; 4.5-6), but alongside there appears another group, Manasseh (3.9; 4.1, 2, 6). To whom does this biblical epithet refer? Yigael Yadin was the first to suggest the straightforward explanation that if the Pharisees are referred to as “Ephraim,” then Manasseh marks the Sadducees.23 Part of his argument was the phrase “the great men of

group of scrolls that were copied between the middle of the first century b.c.e. and the destruction of Qumran by the Romans (see N. Avigad, “The Paleography of the Dead Sea Scrolls” [He- brew], Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls [Jerusalem, 1961], 123). Needless to say, the copying of the text is later than its composition, but we have argued elsewhere that the Hodayot are relatively late, and this view is confirmed by the material published thus far. And see “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” in the present volume. 20. See “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview.” 21. The Essenes never completely abandoned the notion of an eschatological battle between the sons of light and the sons of darkness, and thus were able — at least some — to join the war against Rome. 22. See M. Z. Segal, “On the History of the Sect Yahad,” Tarbiz 22 (1951), 146; K. Schubert, Die Gemeinde vom Toten Meer (München, 1958), 11. 23. In a letter written toward the end of 1961.

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Manasseh,” which suggests a defined, hierarchical group, perhaps with some military power. This view was later accepted by the Russian scholar Amusin, as well as by the French Dupont-Sommer.24 The latter assumed that “Ephraim” and “Manasseh” refer to two individuals, since the corresponding biblical figures are Joseph’s two sons, and only secondarily the names of tribes. Dupont-Sommer identified the “Manasseh” of Pesher Nahum with Aristobulus II, and, more generally, his Sadducee followers, while “Ephraim” refers to his brother, John Hyrcanus, and his Pharisee cohorts. Since Dupont- Sommer identifies — wrongly, to my mind — the Wicked Priest with the “Preacher of Deceit,” he naturally associates both epithets with John Hyrcanus. As a result he must identify “the city of Ephraim, those looking for smooth interpretations” (2.9) with Jerusalem, where John Hyrcanus was located, even though he admits this is problematic. He further argues that Jeru- salem is referred to as “Nineveh,” in keeping with the terminology of the prophet Nahum. We will see below to what extent Dupont-Sommer’s position can be accepted, but he was surely right to identify Ephraim with the Pharisees and Manasseh with the Sadducees. The Russian scholar Amusin came to the same conclusion in an excellent article. His identification of Ephraim and Manasseh in Pesher Nahum is based on two assumptions: First, that the Qumran community understood these names as referring to two tribes, rather than the two sons of Joseph. Indeed, the overriding importance of these tribes in biblical and later Jewish history almost requires this interpretation. The biblical account itself presents Ephraim and Manasseh not as two well-defined fraternal figures, but, as it were, as individuals whose entire raison d’être lies in the tribes that will arise from them. Amusin’s second assumption — in a sense an outgrowth of the first — is that the Qumran scrolls do not employ biblical names in a straightforward manner, but always as part of a typological schema. The Qumran community was deeply engaged in Pesher literature, a subspecies of a broader hermeneutic approach familiar from the Second Temple biblical interpretations of Philo and the New Testament. The Qumran sect accepted as a given that ancient events were signs for later generations, and that Scripture contained allusions to the events of the final era, the era of the formation and existence of the community itself. Only an approach that is sensitive to the interpretive assumptions of the Qumran community will properly recognize the historical events alluded to in the Scrolls generally, and in the Pesharim in particular. The Scrolls’ typological understanding of the tribal division of biblical Israel clearly reflects the separatist ideology of this sect, which set itself apart

24. See the articles cited above, n. 1.

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from mainstream Jewish society. They justify their separation from the rest of Israel and their retreat into the desert with Isaiah 40:3: “And when these have become a community in Israel, in compliance with these arrangements, they are to be segregated from within the dwelling of the men of sin to walk to the desert in order to open there his path. As it is written, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’ (Isa. 40:3)” (1QS 8.12-16; see also 9.19-20). Elsewhere, the Qumran author uses another verse, Psalm 1:1, to justify the sect’s separation: “Midrash of ‘Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked’ (Psalm 1.1). The interpretation of this word: they are those who turn aside from the path of the wicked as it is written in the book of Isaiah, the prophet, for the last days: “the Lord spoke to me while his hand was strong upon me, and removed me from the path of this people” (Isa. 8:11)” (4Q174 [= 4QFlorilegium] 1.14-16). The third verse interpreted to indicate that departure from sinning Israel was God’s will is Isaiah 8:11. Now, the Masoretic reading of the verse states that the Lord “warned me (ynrsyw) not to walk in the way of this people,” but a number of Greek versions25 reflect ynrysyw, ‘he removed me’ rather than ynrsyw, ‘he warned me,’ and this is also the reading in the Isaiah scroll: “while his hand was strong upon me, he removed me from walking in the way of this people.”26 This non-Masoretic reading, then, could serve the Qumran community as a biblical prooftext for their separatist ideology, defining themselves as “the priests and the men of their covenant who have turned away from the path of the nation” (1Qsa [= 1QRule of the Congregation] 1.2-3), or as “those returning from among Israel who turned aside from the path of the people” (CD 8.16),27 or again as “the congregation of all the sons of justice, those who established the covenant, those who avoid walking on the path of the nation” (11Q13 [= 11QMelchizedek] 2.24). But there is still another verse in Isaiah that the Qumran community used to justify its separation from sinful Israel. As the Damascus Document states:

But all those who despise: when God visits the earth in order to empty over them the punishment of the wicked, when there comes the word

25. Namely, those of the Hexapla. 26. See the discussion in Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 252; Barthélemy, Qumran Cave 1, 111-112. 27. Similarly, the Damascus Document speaks of the wicked who “have not left the path of traitors” (CD 8.4-5), and “did not keep apart from the people and have rebelled with insolence, walking on the path of the wicked ones” (CD 8.8-9). The latter is a particularly clear allusion to Isaiah 8:11, according to the non-Masoretic reading.

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which is written in the words of Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet who said “The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah — the king of Assyria” (Isa. 7:17). When the two houses of Is- rael separated, Ephraim detached itself from Judah, and all the renegades were delivered up to the sword: but those who remained steadfast escaped to the land of the north. (CD 7.9-14)

The discussion that follows indicates that this escape refers to the sect’s move to Damascus while it was being persecuted.28 This event was seen by the author as the day that “Ephraim detached itself from Judah” as described in Isaiah 7:1729 (a verse cited again in CD 13.23-14.1).30 If, then, the members of the sect were removed “from walking in the way of this people” (following Isa- iah 8:11), then they fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah regarding Ephraim detach- ing itself from Judah. Moreover, if we are dealing here with the separation of the two houses of Israel, then the Qumran community are not the separatists — it is the rest of the Jews of the day are the true separatists: “Ephraim detached itself from Judah.”We see here a typological understanding of the biblical break between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah,31 cast in terms of contemporary Jewish polemics. There is no ques-

28. See above, n. 14. 29. The phrase “When the two houses of Israel separated” (CD 7.12) is reminiscent of “both houses of Israel” in Isaiah 8:14. Indeed, there was a tradition linking Isaiah 7:17 with Isaiah 8:14 outside the Damascus Document as well. The relevant words in the former are rendered oyb le larqy oyb wgylpoab amwyml hdwhy in Aramaic (‘from the day that the house of Is- rael separated from the house of Judah’). Now, “both houses of Israel” in the latter is translated larqy ybrbr yob vyrol (‘for the two houses of the great ones of Israel’), but the end of the verse, “for the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” is vyboyd hdwhy oybd le larqy oyb wgylpoad le flqwryb (‘on account of the house of Israel separating from the house of Judah, that resides in Jerusalem’). 30. The Damascus Document 7.9-14 clearly indicates that the opening hemistich of Isa- iah 7:17 (“The Lord will bring on you and on your people” etc.) was understood as an eschatological prophecy of divine punishment that will be visited on the impious Israel in the end of days. The second half of the verse (“since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah”), however, is applied to the sect’s escape to the north, that is, to Damascus. This in any case is the sense of the beginning of the relevant CD passage: “When God visits the earth in order to empty over them the punishment of the wicked, when there comes the word which is written in the words of Isaiah, son of Amoz, the prophet, who said, etc.” (CD 7.9-10). The second passage in the Da- mascus Document that cites Isaiah 7:17 opens in a similar manner: “...intheappointed time when God visits the earth, when the word will be fulfilled which said, etc.”(CD 13.23-14.1) — an abbreviated version of the sect’s interpretation of Isaiah. 31. My friend Michael Stone has called my attention to the “Testimony of Naphtali” and its relevance to the negative treatment of Ephraim in the Scrolls. See T. Gaster, “The Hebrew

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tion where the allegiance of a Second Temple Jew would lie, when reading the biblical account of this tragic event: the Essenes undoubtedly identified themselves with the kingdom of Judah,32 i.e., “the House of Judah, whom God will free from the house of judgment on account of their toil and of their loyalty to the Teacher of Righteousness” (Pesher Habakkuk 8.1-3). Similarly, we find in the Qumran Scrolls reference to a group that accompanies the Essene sect (“the Council of the Community”33), a group known as “the simple folk of Ju- dah, those who observe the Law” (Pesher Habakkuk 12.3-5) — apparently Essene sympathizers in the broader populace. This same terminology, expressing a different ideological position, is also found in the Damascus Document: “But when the period corresponding to the number of these years is complete, there will no longer be any joining with the house of Judah but rather each one standing up on his watchtower. The wall is built, the boundary far away” (CD 4.10-12). Is this a later eschatological stage than Pesher Nahum (3.4-5), or perhaps a different, stricter approach? Whatever the answer, it is clear that the Community saw itself as “Judah” or “the house of Judah.”34 The epithet “Manasseh” does not appear in the Damascus Document,

Text of One of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Ar- chaeology (1893-94); R. H. Charles, The Greek Versions of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Oxford, 1908), li-liii and 239-244. Two Hebrew versions have been published by A. Wertheimer, Batei Midrashot (Jerusalem, 1950), 1.187-202; the first version is the more original, the second a less faithful reworking. The Hebrew version of the Testament of Naphtali is without a doubt a translation or reworking of an earlier (most likely Greek) text, which is itself not identical with the testament of Naphtali preserved in the Greek Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs — a matter I hope to discuss elsewhere. For our purpose it is important that this version — unlike the standard testaments — reflects real resistance to the figure of Joseph, resistance that is indeed the main motif of the story. Thus, for instance, Jacob says to his sons: “I fear for the future lest you goastrayafterforeignidols...have,then, no part with the sons of Joseph, save the sons of Levi and the sons of Judah...forIknowthat the sons of Joseph will stray from the path of the Lord, the God of their forefathers, leading Israel to sin and to exile from the good land into a land that is not ours, just as we were led on his account into the exile of Egypt.” It is hard to imagine that such a starkly hostile attitude toward Joseph and his descendents — an attitude, as noted, completely at odds with the rest of the testament literature — is limited to narrative motifs. 32. There may be a connection to the typological role of the kingdom of Judah in the War Scroll, where the sons of light are characterized as “the sons of Levi, the sons of Judah, and the sons of Benjamin” (1QM 1.2). 33. On this definition of Qumran community see Licht, Megillat ha-Serakhim, 8, 29, 109- 110. 34. Kosmala argued that the Qumran community referred to itself as ‘Ephraim’ and to its enemies as ‘Judah’ or ‘house of Judah.’ However, the Scrolls published since then demonstrate that this view is without merit. See H. Kosmala, Hebráer — Essener — Christen (Leiden, 1959), 345-347; and see also his article in the Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1961), 183-190.

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and as we will see below, in the Scrolls that contain “Manasseh” and “Ephraim” the latter refers to the Pharisees,35 the former to the Sadducees. We have already noted that the only persecutors of the sect mentioned in the Da- mascus Document are the Pharisees, and their leader, the Preacher of Deceit. Does this mean that the two mentions of “Ephraim” in the Damascus Docu- ment (7.9-14; 13.23-14.1) refer only to the Pharisees? If verified, this assertion would be highly significant historically, since it suggests that in the eyes of the sect, the separation of the two houses of Israel resulted from the fact that “Ephraim detached itself from Judah” (CD 7.12-13), i.e., that the Essenes came about following a break with the Pharisees! However, it is more likely that the Damascus Document reflects an earlier, simpler typology that that of Pesher Nahum (and the Pesher to Psalm 37). For it was the break between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the First Temple period — “the day that Ephraim departed from Judah” (Isa. 7:17) — that gave rise to Qumran’s tribe typology. As a result, the Qumran community could refer to itself as the “house of Ju- dah” and to the rest of the Jewish world, the sinning Jews, as “Ephraim.” It is this simple typology, I believe, that we find in the Damascus Document.36 Only later, when they sought an epithet for the hated Sadducees, they chose the second major tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, “Manasseh,” thus limiting the denotative field of “Ephraim” to the Pharisees. In any case, the epithets “Judah” for the Essenes, “Ephraim” for the Pharisees, and “Manas- seh” for the Sadducees, are rooted in a typological understanding of the separation of the biblical nation into the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Scholarly discussions of the Qumran epithets have rightly cited Isaiah 11:1337 and 9:19-20,38 both of which contain references to Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah. It is quite possible that the Qumran interpreters used these verses, applying them to the sectarian polemic against the Pharisees and the Saddu- cees. So far, however, no interpretation of these verses has been uncovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Be all that as it may, I do not think the Isaiah verses are the source of the Qumran community’s typological vocabulary: the Essenes saw themselves as the kingdom of Judah and their enemies as the corrupt kingdom of Israel, leading to the designation of the Pharisees and the Saddu- cees as Ephraim and Manasseh, respectively.

35. The meaning of ‘Judah’ and ‘Ephraim’ in 4Q175 [= 4Qtestimonia] is unclear. We find there (line 27), “[. . .] in Israel, and a horror in Ephraim and Judah.” 36. This does not mean, however, that the Damascus Document was not composed after part of the Qumran community had already narrowed the meaning of ‘Ephraim,’using it exclusively in reference to the Pharisees. 37. See Amusin, “Ephraim et Manasse dans le pesher de Nahum (4QpNah),” 390. 38. See Dupont-Sommer’s article in the Sukenik memorial volume, 32.

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How does the identification of Qumran as “Judah,” the Pharisees as “Ephraim” and the Sadducees as “Manasseh” contribute to our understanding of the dynamic between these three groups in the Second Temple period? We turn first to a short passage from Pesher Hosea, identified as fragment 2 of 4Q167 (= 4QpHosb).39 The fragment contains the phrase “angry lion” and “lion,” and goes on to refer to “the last priest who will stretch out his hand to strike Ephraim” (line 3). This is a fragmentary pesher to Hosea 5:14: “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah.” Pesher Nahum teaches us that this was the name used to refer to Alexander Jannaeus — the historical figure to whom Pesher Nahum attributes the prophet’s words,“Thelionhastorn...”(Pesher Nahum 1.4). Jannaeus, then, is the An- gry Lion both in Pesher Nahum and in Pesher Hosea, and also “the last priest” (vwrjah vhc, which is phonetically similar to vwrjh rypc, the Angry Lion), that is, one of “the last priests of Jerusalem” referred to in Pesher Habakkuk. According to Pesher Hosea, then, Jannaeus — the Angry Lion who is also the last priest — will “stretch out his hand and strike Ephraim,”i.e., the Pharisees. This event is known to us both from non-Qumran sources and from the first column of Pesher Nahum, which recounts how the Angry Lion carried out “revenge against those looking for smooth interpretations...hanged living men from the tree” (Pesher Nahum 1.7-8). Pesher Hosea does not describe actions taken by Jannaeus against the Essenes, but the biblical verse in question —“ForIwillbelikealiontoEphraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah” — suggests that the pesher, only fragments of which are extant, went on to describe how the Angry Lion, having struck Ephraim (the Pharisees), turns to persecute the house of Judah, i.e., the Essenes. The fact that Pesher Hosea calls Alexander Jannaeus “the last priest” makes it somewhat more likely that the Sadducee king is also the figure referred to as “the wicked priest.” We have already noted that “the wicked priest” persecuted the Pharisees, and “robbed and hoarded wealth from the violent men who rebelled against God” (Pesher Habakkuk 8.11). This is a plausible description even if the wicked priest is not Jannaeus, in light of the dispute between the last Hasmonean priests and the Pharisees.40 That the wicked priest persecuted the Teacher of Righteousness and his followers is made clear in Pesher Habakkuk. The Pesher to Psalm 37 describes the wicked priest’s attempt to kill the Teacher of Righteousness. The latter survives and the author notes that God will repay the wicked priest in kind, “delivering him into the hands of ruthless nations so that they can carry out vengeance

39. Allegro, “Further Light on the History of the Qumran Sect,” JBL 75 (1956), 93. 40. The sole exception being Hyrcanus II.

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upon him” (4Q171 4.8-10)” — an apparent reference to the Romans. Is this a prophecy of future events, or a past occurrence? According to Pesher Habakkuk (9.9-12, and see also 9.1-2), the latter is the more likely, since there we find an account of “the Wicked Priest, whom, for the wickedness against the Teacher of Righteousness and the members of his council, God delivered into the hands of his enemies to disgrace him with a punishment, to destroy him with bitterness of soul for having acted wickedly against his elect.” Does this passage refer to the bitter end of Aristobulus II?41 If so, he and not Alex- ander Jannaeus is the Wicked Priest of the Scrolls. Setting aside these speculations, we turn now to a critical moment in the history of the Qumran community, a moment that only becomes apparent in light of Pesher Nahum’s indication that the community referred to the Pharisees and Sadducees as Ephraim and Manasseh, respectively. The key passage is as follows:

“The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken” (Ps. 37:14-15). Its interpretation concerns the wicked of Ephraim and Manasseh who will attempt to lay hands on the Priest and the members of his council in the period of testing which will come upon them. However, God will save them from their hands and after they will be delivered into the hands of ruthless nations for judgment. (4Q171 2.16-20)

Here we find that “the wicked of Ephraim and Manasseh” sought to “lay hands on the Priest and the members of his council” — language reminiscent of Pesher Habakkuk 9.9-10 (“the Wicked Priest, whom, for the wickedness against the Teacher of Righteousness and the members of his council, God

41. Dupont-Sommer has long identified the Wicked Priest with Hyrcanus II, brother of Aristobulus, but this hypothesis is based on the very difficult assumption that the ‘Wicked Priest’ and the ‘Preacher of Deceit’ are one and the same person. Now, it is true that no text has thus far linked the Wicked Priest with Manasseh, that is, with the Sadducees, but he is also never connected with the Pharisees. To the contrary, Pesher Habakkuk 8.11 suggests that he persecuted the Pharisees. The main motivation for identifying the Wicked Priest with Aristobulus II lies in the Scrolls’ allusions to the death of the Wicked Priest. The difficulty with this identification is that it forces a later date for the establishment of the sect, unless we assume that its founder, the Teacher of Righteousness, was persecuted by the Wicked Priest in his latter years. Aside from Aristobulus II, the only historical figures to meet an end like that of the Wicked Priest are Jona- than and Simeon, the Hasmonean rulers, though it is hard to imagine that the Pharisees already existed as a distinct party in their days. The identification of the Wicked Priest remains, then, a matter of speculation; perhaps the publication of additional material will clarify the matter.

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delivered into the hands of his enemies”). The statement that Manasseh and Ephraim will be punished for their persecution of the Priest, i.e. the Teacher of Righteousness, by being “delivered into the hands of ruthless nations for judgment,” is very similar to the later section of the pesher that describes the Wicked Priest’s punishment as God “delivering him into the hands of ruthless nations so that they can carry out vengeance upon him” (4Q171 4.9-10). Both passages describe the Teacher of Righteousness escaping the plots of the Wicked Priest or, alternately, from the hand of the wicked of Manasseh and Ephraim. A comparison of the Pesher Psalms passage with parallel statements in the Scrolls suggests that a straightforward interpretation is apposite: “the wicked of Ephraim and Manasseh” refers to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, both of which persecuted the sect while the Teacher of Righteousness was alive,42 seeking — but ultimately failing — to “lay hands on the Priest and the members of his council.” It would appear, then, that the Teacher of Righ- teousness was not killed, but rather died a natural death. The “ruthless nations” in Pesher Psalms (2.20; 4.10) are most likely the Romans, though this is not the only possible interpretation. The author may be expressing his cruel wish that the Sadducees and Pharisees be handed over to Rome, but it is also possible these statements allude to past events from the trying times following Pompey’s invasion of Israel. The most important piece of information is that both the Sadducees and the Pharisees persecuted the Teacher of Righ- teousness. It is unlikely that the Pharisees were able to attack anyone while they were persecuted by the Sadducee authorities, so the Teacher of Righ- teousness and his followers were subject to Pharisee persecution only from the time of the Pharisee rise to power. In other words, the Teacher of Righ- teousness was still alive during the reign of Alexandra Salome.43 We saw above that the Qumran scrolls describe the Pharisees as having used their hypocrisy and deceitful teachings to win over most of the Jewish populace: “the misleaders from Ephraim, who with their fraudulent teaching and lying tongue and perfidious lip misdirect many: kings, princes, priests and people together with the proselyte attached to them. Cities and clans will perish through their advice, nobles and leaders will fall [due to the fero]city of their tongues” (Pesher Nahum 2.8-10). As a number of scholars have noted, “the rule of those looking for smooth interpretations” — that is, the Pharisee

42. This contradicts my earlier assumption that the members of the Qumran community were only persecuted by the Pharisees after the death of the Teacher of Righteousness, as I argued in Qiryat Sefer 1948, p. 458. 43. The sequence “the wicked of Ephraim and Manasseh” in Pesher Psalms (2.18) does not mean that the sect was first persecuted by the Pharisees and only later by the Sadducees.

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government during the reign of Alexandra Salome — is portrayed very grimly.44 Though the pesher is composed under Roman rule, the Pharisees still wield great influence over the people, and the author can only hope for “the final time...whenthegloryofJudah is revealed” (Pesher Nahum 3.3-8). This section of Pesher Nahum does not recount historical recollections, but rather a fervent hope for what will yet transpire. The phrase “final time” is used in the Qumran literature to designate the end of the present eschatological epoch.45 Then will the “glory of Judah” be revealed, in other words, all will see that the Dead Sea community alone is legitimate and just. This hope, however, remained unfulfilled, just like the second wish of the Community — that the Pharisees and their deleterious influence on the Jewish populace disappear altogether. We saw above that “Manasseh” is mentioned in the pesher to Psalm 37 (2.18-20), but it is only Pesher Nahum that provides insight into the nature of this group. If the Pharisees, “Ephraim,” are portrayed as a religious community made up of dorshei halakot, whose deceiving teachers have misled the majority of the Jewish populace, the Sadducees, “Manasseh,” are characterized by grandeur, honor, and a bellicose character. The Pesher (3.9) speaks of “the great men of Manasseh, the honorable [people who surround] Manasseh” and further notes that the men of Manasseh are “mighty warriors” (3.11). These details remind us of the military leaders of Alexander Jannaeus, the Sadducee king, who went on to serve under his son, Aristobulus.46 And though the pesher refers to “the rule of those looking for smooth interpretations” (2.4) — the Pharisee reign under Alexandra Salome47 — it actually has the “rule” of Manasseh in mind. For Nahum 3:10, with its graphic description of military destruction, “concerns Manasseh, in the last time, in which his dominion over Israel will weaken [. . .] his women, his children and his babies will go into captivity, his warriors and his honored ones [will perish] by the sword” (4.3-4). The Qumran author speaks of the “warriors” of Manasseh, even though the biblical verse does not mention warriors at all. What historical event is here invoked? Amusin is of the opinion that Pesher Nahum al-

44. The pesher itself was undoubtedly composed after Pompey (see Pesher Nahum 1.3: “up to the appearance of the chiefs of the Kittim”), and could thus reflect the situation in the days of Hyrcanus II, following Pompey’s exile of Aristobulus. Nonetheless, the overall description fits with what we know of the Pharisee government in the days of Queen Alexandra Salome. 45. For a discussion see J. Licht, “The Qumran Doctrine of Ages,” in Eretz Israel 8 (E. L. Sukenik Memorial Volume), 63-70, and especially p. 64, column A. 46. See Dupont-Sommer in the Sukenik Memorial Volume, 26*, 33*. 47. And see above, n. 44.

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ludes to the persecution of the Sadducees, the allies of Alexander Jannaeus, by the hand of the now-dominant Pharisees under Alexandra Salome.48 Dupont-Sommer suggests that Pesher Nahum hints at the fate of Aristobulus and his followers in 63 b.c.e., when Pompey captured Aristobulus and his family, and his troops fell before the advancing Roman army.49 As noted, the Pesher was undoubtedly composed after the Roman conquest under Pompey, and the language of the passage in question seems to support Dupont- Sommer’s view. Finally, the Pesher prophesies regarding “the wicked of Ephraim...whose cup will come after Manasseh” (4.5-6). Dupont-Sommer takes this as a reference to the bitter end of Hyrcanus II,50 but as mentioned above (and we will return to this point in what follows), Pesher Nahum’s account of the disappearance of the Pharisees represents a hope for the future — never to be fulfilled.51 The publication of Pesher Nahum provides important details for Sec- ond Temple Jewish history. The Pesher confirms the general portrait found in Josephus concerning the internecine struggles during the days of the last Hasmonean priests, and provides new information regarding the history of the Essenes, about whom we knew next to nothing prior to the discovery of the Scrolls. We now know that the Essenes were persecuted both by the Phari- sees and the Sadducees already from the time the Teacher of Righteousness founded the community. It stands to reason, then, that the Teacher of Righ- teousness lived under the Pharisee government — the reign of Alexandra Salome — and escaped the plottings of his enemies.52 Interestingly, Josephus describes the time of Pharisee rule in similar terms, even though he was a Pharisee himself, while the Essenes were sworn enemies of the Pharisees. Typically for the Scrolls, Pesher Nahum describes the Pharisees as a religious group that wields great influence over the Jewish populace, and this seems to be historically accurate. The Pesher characterizes them as hypocrites — a

48. See Amusin, “Ephraim et Manasse dans le pesher de Nahum (4QpNah),” 395. 49. See Dupont-Sommer, Sukenik Memorial Volume, 33*-34*. 50. Dupont-Sommer, Sukenik Memorial Volume, 34*. 51. The phrase “house of division” (bet peleg) is familiar from CD 20.22, but the reference there is opaque. Dupont-Sommer’s suggestion that this is a reference to the Hasmonean dynasty is baseless. 52. The Scrolls’ reports regarding the Essene persecution at the hands of the Wicked Priest and others stand in sharp contrast to Philo’s account in “Every Good Man Is Free” (Omnis Probus Liber Sit) §§89-91. Philo enthusiastically describes the moral perfection of the Essenes, noting that even the most wicked rulers of Palestine were helpless before the moral power of the community. These tyrants did not persecute the Essenes, and indeed admitted their moral superiority. F. H. Colson argues that Philo knew of Herod’s favorable treatment of the Essenes and pro- jected this situation on to all previous rulers. See Colson, Philo (London, 1954), 9.515-516.

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charge echoed in other sources, including the Talmud. The Sadducees, in contrast, are described as warriors, again very much in keeping with Josephus’s account of the reigns of Alexander Jannaeus and his son Aristobulus II. Of particular importance is the tribal typology: the Essenes are Judah, the Phari- sees Ephraim, and the Sadducees Manasseh. This typology suggests a tripartite division within the Jewish people, precisely as Josephus says. In light of all this, it appears this division reflects the historical reality of the day and is not a product of Josephus’s literary imagination.

G. E. Lessing, the 18th century German writer, is best known for his literary work, including the play “Nathan the Wise.” Few people know that he was also an important scholar of early Christianity. In one of his theological tractates,53 Lessing writes that the Jews interpret Scripture in various ways and believe that different interpretations may be equally valid. Every verse, in fact, is open to various readings. Lessing is undoubtedly overstating his case. It is true that there is a wide range of possible interpretations in Judaism, but each approach is bound by certain rules, rules that are determined by the biblical text, on the one hand, and the clues that guide the reader’s search for deeper truths within the text, on the other. The first column of Pesher Nahum nicely demonstrates that despite the relative freedom enjoyed by Jewish interpreters, the interpretation itself responds to elements found within the biblical text itself. Thus Nahum 2:12-14 refers to a lion’s den, to which the lion brings prey for his whelps with impu- nity. Already the Targum understood that this lion’s den, which will soon feel God’s wrath, is a symbol for Nineveh and its kings. Pesher Nahum too understands the words of the prophet as a symbolic reference to kings and rulers. Thus, both the Targum and the Qumran authors interpret the lion’s prey as “wealth” (Pesher Nahum 1.11), or as “loot” and “goods” (Targum to Nahum 2:13 and 2:14, respectively). Unlike the Aramaic translator, however, the Qumran interpretation takes Nahum’s account of the lion as a unit unto itself, divorced from the question of Nineveh. Moreover, the pesher provides a detailed account of Nahum’s prophetic words, interpreting them as an account of the lives of contemporary kings. In the following chapter, Nahum speaks openly of Nineveh, prophesying its downfall. The fate of this “city of bloodshed” will recall the past con-

53. G. E. Lessing, Thesen aus der Kirchengeschichte, §§31-35.

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quest of Amon, that is, Thebes: “Are you better than Amon that sat surrounded by rivers?” (Nah. 3:8). The author of Pesher Nahum follows the prophet’s lead, but transforms the two cities into symbols for the leading Jew- ish parties of his day: Nineveh is the city of Ephraim, of “those looking for smooth interpretations” (Pesher Nahum 2.2) — i.e., the Pharisees — while “Amon is Manasseh” (Pesher Nahum 3.9), i.e., the Sadducees. If, then, the prophet foresees that Nineveh will fall just as Amon fell, our author reads this as an indication that the Pharisees will meet their end, just as the Sadducees met theirs. The dominion of Manasseh has already weakened (Pesher Nahum 4.3), but in the future it will be “the wicked of Ephraim . . . whose cup will come after Manasseh” (Pesher Nahum 4.5-6). The pesher, then, offers a consistent typological interpretation of the two cities: when Nahum turns away from Amon to discuss Nineveh (Nah. 3:11), the author of the pesher likewise ends his discussion of the Sadducee “Manasseh” and turns to the “wicked of Ephraim.” Pesher Nahum contains, then, a two-fold typological model. One is the tribal typology that is known from other Qumran texts, according to which the Qumran community is Judah and its enemies are the northern kingdom of Israel: the Pharisees are Ephraim, the Sadducees Manasseh. The other, dic- tated by the biblical words of Nahum, identifies the Pharisees with Nineveh and the Sadducees with Amon.54 The Qumran community often describes itself as an edifice or a temple,55 and as “a fortified city” (1QHa 14.25). Pesher Isaiah to 54:11-12 (“I am about to set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of jewels, and all your wall of precious stones”) assumes that the prophet’s description of eschatological Jerusalem is in fact a symbol of God’s chosen group, that is, the Essenes.56 The same logic guides the author of 11QMel- chizedek, who interprets Isaiah 52:7 (“Who says to Zion, ‘your God reigns’”) as referring to “those who establish the covenant, those who avoid walking on the path of the people” (11QMelch 2.24-25). We have already encountered such language, which characterizes the Qumran community as breaking with the Jewish society of the day; eschatological Zion too, then, symbolizes the

54. Pesher Nahum states only “Its interpretation: Amon is Manasseh” (3.9), but the author undoubtedly understood the biblical text to be referring to the city Na-Amon, that is, Thebes. 55. On this image see D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” in Scripta Hierosolymitana 4 (1958), 229-236; B. Gärtner, The Temple and Community in Qumran and the New Testament (Cambridge, 1965). See also, the Damascus Document 3.19-4.4. 56. See D. Flusser, “The Isaiah Pesher and the Notion of Twelve Apostles in the Early Church,” in the present volume.

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Essenes in 11QMelchizedek. The typological association of the community with Jerusalem is easily understood as a conflation of the edifice and city symbolism prevalent in the Qumran writings, with their self-identity as the kingdom of Judah. The combination of the two would seem to indicate that the Qumran community ought to be seen as the chief city of Judah, as holy Jerusalem herself. The identification of the sect with Jerusalem is not attested in the extant text of Pesher Nahum, though it is possible that it was made in some of the now lost parts of the composition. In any case, it is clear that if Nineveh symbolizes the Pharisees, and Amon the Sadducees, then the Essenes can only be symbolized by Jerusalem.57 In the symbolic vocabulary of Qumran, the Teacher of Righteousness is the community’s founder, “the priest, the Teacher of Righteousness, whom God chose to stand...heinstalled him to found the congregation” (4QPsa 3.15-16). His counterpart is the “founder” of the Pharisees, the Preacher of Deceit. The prophet Habakkuk cries out, “Alas for you who build a city on bloodshed and found a city on iniquity. Is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor only to feed the flames, and nations weary themselves for nothing?” (Hab. 2:12-13), and the Qumran author glosses these words as follows: “The interpretation of the word concerns the Preacher of Deceit, who has misdirected many, building a useless city with blood and erecting a community with deceit for his own glory, wearing out many by useless work and teaching them acts of deceit, so that their labors are for nothing;58 so that those who derided and insulted God’s chosen will go to the punishment of fire” (Pesher Habakkuk 10.9-13). The pesher clearly interprets the building of “a city on bloodshed” as reference to the establishment of a false community. The image of laboring “for nothing” recurs in other Qumran texts, consistently in reference to the Pharisees (Hodayot 15.34; 10.22). The phrase “you who build a city on bloodshed” in Habakkuk 2:12 is very similar to the words of Nahum (3:1): “Ah, city of bloodshed, utterly de-

57. Dupont-Sommer suggests that Nineveh in Pesher Nahum refers to Jerusalem; however it should be noted that there is only one instance in the Scrolls of a biblical word being interpreted as referring to Jerusalem: “And as for what he says: ‘because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth and to cities’ (Hab. 2:8). Its interpretation: the city is Jerusalem in which the Wicked Priest performed repulsive acts and defiled the sanctuary of God” (Pesher Habakkuk 2.6-8). 58. Compare the Essene position with the famous statement in the rabbinic Fathers Ac- cording to Rabbi Nathan (version 1, chapter 5): “The Sadducees state, the Pharisees maintain an oral tradition that they suffer in this world and have nothing in the world to come.”This was the view of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the world to come. The Essenes, who believe there are reward and punishment after death, argued that the Pharisees’ labors were in vain, “as they will be judged with fire.”

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ceitful, full of booty.” Pesher Nahum has strong linguistic grounds to interpret “city of bloodshed” as referring to the Pharisees: “Its interpretation: it is the city of Ephraim, those looking for smooth interpretations, in the final days, since they walk in treachery and lies” (Pesher Nahum 2.2). It should be noted that while the Sadducees (i.e. “Manasseh”) are also identified with a city — Amon, that is, Thebes — the Scrolls do not describe them as a congregation. Pesher Nahum speaks of the great men and the honorable men of Manasseh, and also of the dominion of Manasseh, but never of their teachings or their sages. It may well be that the Sadducees were not a full-fledged religious congregation in the mold of the Pharisees and the Essenes, but more of a political party. Their religious positions undoubtedly carried some weight, but it appears the Qumran community did not find it necessary to engage these positions overtly. This may be due to the factors mentioned above, and also to the relatively minor influence of the Sadducees on Jewish society as a whole. Though Pesher Nahum does not define the Sadducees as a religious congregation (rightly, it seems), it nonetheless employs city symbolism in discussing them. Historically, the position of the author of Pesher Nahum toward the Pharisees and the Sadducees is akin to that of Nahum toward As- syria and Egypt: Amon had already fallen, just as the Sadducees had been laid low — their “infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; lots were cast for her nobles, all her dignitaries were bound in fetters” (Pesher Nahum 4.1-4). And just as the biblical prophet looked toward the future fall of Nineveh, so too the Essene author rejoices at the prospects of the Pharisees’ decline. The key difference, of course, is that the biblical prophecy came to pass, but not that of Pesher Nahum. The moment when “the glory of Judah is revealed” never came, the Pharisees never disappeared, and the people did not abandon the Pharisee misleaders and align themselves with the Essenes. The hopes of the Qumran community were ultimately dashed, but the details of their eschatological vision concerning the end of the Pharisees are fascinating, both as a reflection of the spirit of Second Temple Judaism, and as an element of the Qumran eschatology. Consider Pesher Nahum’s statement in this regard: “‘They will say: Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her? Where shall I seek comforters for you?’ (Nah. 3:6-7):59 Its interpretation concerns those looking for smooth interpretations, whose council will die and whose society will be disbanded; they shall not continue misdirecting

59. On the reading of Nahum in the scroll see Raphael Weiss, “A Comparison between the Masoretic and Qumran Texts of Nahum iii.1-11,” Revue de Qumran 4 (1963), 433-439.

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the assembly and simple folk shall no longer support their council” (Pesher Nahum 3.6-8). How, then, does the author envision the end of days, when “the glory of Judah is revealed” and the single abiding truth of the Essene community will be made known to all, in accordance with the will of God? Many of the Jewish commoners will realize that they erred in their blind obedience to the Phari- sees, and turn away from those who misdirected them. Then the Pharisees’ “council will die” and their society “will be disbanded.” Ultimately, the congregation of those who look for smooth interpretations will cease to exist. In- terestingly, the Pesher uses the same terminology for the Pharisees as for the Qumran community: ‘congregation’ (hde), ‘assembly’ (lhk),60 ‘council’ (hxe), and ‘assembly’ (osnc).61 Outside of “council” in the sense of congregation, which is otherwise unattested in the Scrolls, these terms are not particular to the Essenes, but rather appear to be part of the common Second Temple lexicon for religious congregations. The section describing the downfall of the Pharisees in the end of days includes another set of technical terminology, which may shed light on the social reality of Second Temple Judaism. The Essene author proclaims, “when the glory of Judah is revealed the simple people of Ephraim will flee from among their assembly and desert the ones who misdirected them and will join the majority of Israel.” After the Pharisees pass from the world, “they shall not continue misdirecting the assembly and simple folk shall no longer support their council” (Pesher Nahum 3.4-8). Who are these “simple folk” (fyaop)? The Hebrew term appears a number of times throughout the Scrolls in reference to the Qumran members, indicating their simple faith. Thus the author of the Hodayot writes: “I became a trap for offenders, but a medicine for all who turn away from offense, a wit for simple folk, and a staunch purpose for the timorous at heart” (1QHa 10.8-9). However, the word has a technical sense as well, as when Pesher Habakkuk interprets Habakkuk 2:17 (“For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you; the destruction of the animals will terrify you”) as: “Because Lebanon is the Council of the Community and the animals are the simple folk of Judah, those who observe the Law” (Pesher Habakkuk 12.3-5). The ‘Council of the Community’ refers to the Qumran community and its organizing principles, and alongside it are

60. Pesher Nahum 2.5; Pesher Habakkuk 10.10; Hodayot 10.22, 32; 14.5; 15.34; Pesher Isaiah 2.17; 4.36; Damascus Document 1.12 (?); 2.1; 8.13. 61. The term ‘assembly’ (osnc) appears in the Scrolls once in reference to the Pharisees: “whose assembly will be disbanded” (Pesher Nahum 3.7), and once in reference to the Qumran community: “[. . . the Interpreter of] the Law with the men of the Community, for [. . .] it is the assembly of the men...”(4Q252 5.5-6).

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the ‘simple folk of Judah, those who observe the law’ (the Qumran gloss of ‘the animals’ in the biblical verse). We established above that Judah is a typological name for the Essene movement; thus the ‘simple folk of Judah’ are individuals who “observe the Law,” i.e. the Torah according to the Essene interpretation, but are not part of the “Council of the Community” and do not obey its special ordinances. Particularly relevant is the very poorly preserved passage from Pesher Micah:62 “‘I shall make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards’ (Mic. 1:6). Its interpretation concerns the Preacher of Deceit who has misdirected the simple folk. ‘And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?’ (Mic. 1:5). Its interpretation concerns the Teacher of Righteousness who teaches the law to his council and to all those volunteering to join the chosen of God, observing the law in the council of the Community, those who will be saved on the day of judgment” (1QpMic [= 1Q14] fragments 8-10). This passage reflects a picture already attested elsewhere in the Scrolls: two communities face each other — the Pharisees led by the Preacher of De- ceit, and the Essenes led by the Teacher of Righteousness. Both are symbolized by cities — Samaria for the Pharisees, who are called ‘Ephraim’ (and “the head of Ephraim is Samaria” [Isa. 7:9]), while Jerusalem, the Judean capital, is the symbol of the Essenes, who refer to themselves as the house of Jerusalem. The pesher takes Micah’s words “I shall make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards” and applies them to the Preacher of Deceit. It is possible that there is a play on the Hebrew phrase “grape vineyards” (frc yetm) and the homonymous root h-e-o, to mislead or misdirect. Pesher Nahum speaks of the Pharisees who “misdirect Ephraim” (2.8; and see also 3.7; Pesher Hosea 2.5; CD 5.20), while Pesher Habakkuk states explicitly that the Preacher of Deceit “misdirected the many” (10.9; and see also CD 1.14-15). It would appear, then, that the reconstruction of Pesher Micah as “the Preacher of Deceit who has misdirected the simple folk” is indeed war- ranted. The Preacher of Deceit misdirected Israel (the vineyard being a common symbol for Israel, following Isaiah 5:7). We already know the “simple folk” of Pesher Micah from Pesher Nahum; they make up the majority of the Jewish people who, while not part of the Pharisees proper, obey their rulings. The author of Pesher Nahum believes that in the end of days the Pharisees “shall not continue misdirecting the assembly and simple folk shall no longer support their council” (3.7-8), and then “the simple people of Ephraim will flee from among their assembly and desert the ones who misdirected them and will join the majority of Israel” (3.5).

62. D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1, 78.

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Pesher Micah, then, sets Samaria, the evil kingdom of the north that is the symbol of the Pharisees and the Preacher of Deceit, against Jerusalem, the congregation of the Teacher of Righteousness. The latter are, he suggests, the true subject of Micah 1:5: “And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusa- lem?” For Pesher Micah, “Its interpretation concerns the Teacher of Righ- teousness who teaches the law to his Council and all those volunteering to join the chosen of God, observing the law in the Council of the Community, those who will be saved from the day of judgment” (Pesher Micah fragments 8-10).63 Milik, who edited Pesher Micah, rightly refers to a parallel passage in Pesher Habakkuk, interpreting Habakkuk 2:17 — “For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you; the destruction of the animals will terrify you” — as follows: “Because Lebanon is the Council of the Community and the animals are the simple folk of Judah, those who observe the Law” (Pesher Habakkuk 12.4- 5). It appears that Pesher Micah offers related readings of two terms in Micah 1:5. “Jerusalem” refers to the Council of the Community, while “the high place of Judah” refers to “all those volunteering to join the chosen of God...inthe Council of the Community.” The volunteers here clearly refer to individual supporters of the Qumran community who are not current members but might become members at a future time. The term ‘volunteers’ appears in the Scrolls in a number of different meanings.64 The Manual of Discipline echoes the sense of Pesher Micah when it speaks of “anyone from Israel who freely volunteers to enroll in the Council of the Community”(6.13-14), that is, people located outside the sect but considering membership. (See also “those who freely volunteer,” 1QS 1.7, 11.)We find, then, a clear correlation between Pesher Habakkuk 12.1-5, on the one hand, and Pesher Micah, on the other. Pesher Mi- cah interprets “the high place of Judah” as “all those volunteering to join the chosen of God...intheCouncil of the Community,”while Pesher Habakkuk interprets “animals” in Habakkuk as “the simple folk of Judah, those who observe the Law.” These constitute a distinct group from “Lebanon which is the Council of the Community.” Indeed, both these passages appear to make up a single midrashic interpretation, and it’s possible that other points of contact existed, but cannot be recovered due to the poor condition of Pesher Micah. Be that as it may, both the fragmentary Pesher Micah and Pesher Habakkuk speak of two affiliated groups — the structured sect, “the Council of the Commu- nity,” and those who are not full members.

63. With regard to the last phrase, Milik rightly cites Pesher Habakkuk 8.1-3: “...allob- serving the Law in the house of Judah, whom God will free from the house of judgment on account of their toil and of their loyalty to the Teacher of Righteousness.” 64. See Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 108-109.

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Those “volunteering” for the congregation of the Teacher of Righteous- ness in Pesher Micah are the “simple folk of Judah” discussed in Pesher Habakkuk. However, Pesher Micah explicitly links the “simple folk” with the Preacher of Deceit, the leader of the Pharisees, suggesting these are the “simple folk of Ephraim” mentioned in Pesher Nahum (3.5, and see also 3.7). It appears, then, that the Qumran authors saw the Pharisee movement as paralleling its own: both the Pharisees and the Essenes were made up of a religious congregation and of its supporters. Its own “simple folk of Judah” are also referred to as those “who accompany,” as when the Damascus Document describes “the converts of Israel who left the land of Judah, and those who accompany them” (CD 4.2-3). The Essene movement is described in the Manual of Discipline as a structured group of “those who freely volunteer for holiness in Aaron and for the house of truth in Israel and...those who join them for community, lawsuit, and judgment to proclaim as guilty all those who tres- pass the decree” — again, the full members and those who join them (1QS 5.5-7). It was the structural parallel between the two movements that allowed the Qumran authors to transfer the technical term “simple folk” from the Essenes to their Pharisee rivals. The former were the “simple folk of Judah,” the latter the “simple folk of Ephraim.” True, the phrase does not have a precise parallel within the Pharisaic-rabbinic corpus, but it is employed by the Scrolls to mark the Pharisees, not only the Essenes. It is well established that both the Pharisaic and the Essene movement were centered around a particular group, who maintained a fixed way of life and various purity strictures.65 The Pharisees numbered some 6000 members, the Essenes 4000. However, there were significant differences between the two congregations. The religious legislation of the Essenes reflected the centrality of the Yahad, the sectarian community, and its separatist ideology. As a result, the “simple folk of Judah” are ultimately nothing more than fellow travelers. Ideally, all those who volunteer to join the community will become members of the Council of the Community (as in Pesher Micah), which explains the requirement that every member of the Qumran community “welcome those who freely volunteer to carry out God’s decrees into the covenant of kindness, in order to be united in the council of God” (1QS 1.7-8). The Pharisees, in contrast, were not a separatist or missionary community, but rather sought to influence the Jewish people as a whole. This tendency is evidenced by the polemic attack of Qumran writers against the Pharisees as

65. For a comparison between the Qumran community and Pharisaic havurah see Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 294-303.

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“misleaders from Ephraim” who lead astray the people as a whole (see especially Pesher Nahum 2.7-10). Given this historical context, we cannot but wonder to whom the Scrolls refer when they speak of “the simple folk of Ephraim”? The term that most closely parallels “the simple folk” in rabbinic literature is am ha-aretz, often translated as ‘ignoramus’ or ‘unlearned.’ It can be used to identify an individual who is not a sage, but it also means one who is not a member of the Pharisee community, and it is in the latter sense that it approximates Qumran’s “simple folk,” i.e., individuals who accept the community but are not part of it. Was this the only distinction invoked by the term “simple folk of Ephraim,” or does it have a broader sense that includes the distinction between the am ha-aretz and the Pharisee sage? It appears that the author of Pesher Nahum had this aspect in mind too, as he writes that in the last days “when the glory of Judah is revealed the simple people of Ephraim will flee from among their assembly and desert the ones who misdirected them” (Pesher Nahum 3.4). The simple folk will, in other words, break with the Pharisee sages. In any case, historically speaking the “simple folk of Ephraim” constituted the vast majority of Jewish society — sympathetic to the teachings of the Pharisees, and thus they could be referred to with the un- marked “simple folk” (as in Pesher Nahum 3.7 and Pesher Micah). Thus far, we have concentrated on the Essene prophecy regarding the end of Pharisee influence within the broader context of Pharisee-Essene relations in Second Temple times. However, part of the prophecy provides fascinating insights into the eschatological teachings of the Qumran community. One of the central doctrines of the community posits that the world is divided into the lot of light and the lot of darkness, and an accompanying desire to destroy the evil — indeed, evil itself — in the end of days. The dualism of good and evil, along with the belief in predestination, is the foundation of Qumran’s separatist ideology, an ideology that finds expression in the very structure of this community that seeks to set itself apart from Jewish society. It is no surprise, then, that the Qumran authors would promote the idea that in the end of days all the wicked Jews, i.e., those who do not belong to the community, will be destroyed: “. . . for futile are those who do not know the covenant. And all those who scorn his word he shall cause to vanish from the world” (1QS 5.19). However, the sect’s ideology could be understood in a more radical fashion, as arguing that some of the Jewish population may not have been predestined into either the lot of light or the lot of darkness, but rather has been misled by the wicked and may yet repent and be saved. It may be in this context that the Scrolls speak of those who misdirect the people, a phrase that invariably points to the Pharisees and their leadership. Thus the Hodayot speak of those who seek after smooth interpretations: “You placed

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. . . the source of knowledge for all those who understand, but they have changed them for an uncircumcised lip and a weird tongue of a people without understanding, and so they will be ruined by their mistake” (1QHa 10.18- 19). Pesher Nahum speaks in the same vein of “their fraudulent teaching” (Pesher Nahum 2.8-10). The author then goes on to enumerate the various social strata that have been misled by the Pharisees and their fraudulent teaching, beginning with kings and moving all the way down to “the proselyte attached to them.”If a significant percentage of the Jewish populace is merely victims of these misleaders, in the future time, when the truth will be revealed, the cheated masses will abandon their erroneous ways and join with the Qumran community. I take this to be almost certainly the original view of the sect. For it was ever thus in separatist movements: one tendency seeks to break with the majority, eventually transforming the religious movement into a sectarian group, alongside a second tendency to convince the majority that this new movement represents the only true interpretation of the religion as a whole. One of the key factors in the formation of a new religious group is the belief that its views will eventually be accepted by their co-religionists. How- ever, their failure to convince the majority of their views is, so to speak, a fe- cund tragedy, at least when the separatist elements in the movement are strong and represent a novel ideological perspective. The theological dualism of the Qumran community, so clearly evident in the doctrine of predestination, paved the way for its break with broader Jewish society. However, unlike Christianity which turned toward the Pagan world, the Qumran community never fully divorced itself from the Jewish people. We may assume, then, that the desire to convince mainstream Judaism (or part of it) engendered stronger pan-Jewish feelings in the early days of the Qumran community, feelings that weakened as it grew clearer that the group had failed to establish itself as a dominant force in the Jewish world. Nonetheless, even when the group separated itself physically, it did not cease to hope that eventually, even the Jew- ish masses who could not accept the strictures of life at Qumran would join the Essene movement. After all, they knew empirically that there were “simple folk of Judah, those who observe the law” who could not attain the religious observance of Qumran members, but still were sympathetic to the movement. Thus, even while stating that “futile are those who do not know the covenant,” the very same section describes the Essene movement as “a foun- dationoftruthforIsrael...[to]makeatonementforallwhofreelyvolunteer . . . and for those who join them...”(1QS 5.5-7). The same putative dichotomy is set forth (albeit in milder terms) in Pesher Psalms,66 which speaks of

66. On what follows see Licht’s important article “An Eternal Planting and Nation of

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“all who converted to the law, who do not refuse to convert from their wickedness, for all those who resist to convert from their sin will be cut off” (4QpPsa 2.4-5). But while this does not mean that only the members of the community will be counted among those who “convert,” there is a clear tension between this statement and later language concerning “the congregation of his chosen ones who will be chiefs and princes...”ofIsrael(4QpPsa 3.5). There are, then, two distinct aspects to Qumran eschatology. One position holds that ultimate redemption applies only to the Qumran community itself, while the other describes the redemption of all non-wicked Jews. The latter will turn away from their wrongdoings, recognize the truth of the Qumran teachings, and live under the rule of the community. This is the view promulgated in the Rule of the Congregation,67 as it is “the rule of all the congregation of Israel in the final days, when they gather in community to walk in accordance with the regulation of the sons of Zadok, the priests, and the men of their covenant” (1QSa [= 1Q28a] 1.1-2). This is also the approach of Pesher Nahum, who provides a fuller social picture of the eschatological hopes outlined in the Rule of the Congregation. Pesher Nahum does not discuss the fate that will befall the Sadducees in the end of days, perhaps because they are relatively few. We do, however, learn that the Pharisees will disintegrate, losing all popular support once their wicked deeds are made known. “When the glory of Judah” — that is, of the Qumran community — “is revealed,” the simple folk of Ephraim will turn away from those who misled them and join with the true Israel. Clearly, this series of events accords with a pan-Jewish approach (at least as far as the future is concerned), since not only the simple folk of Judah, but those of Ephraim as well will side with the community. The author of the Rule of the Congregation was, it seems, acutely aware of the tension between the present separatism and the future integra- tion, and so he presents the composition as dealing with “all the congregation of Israel in the final days,” a time when all will “walk in accordance with the regulation of the sons of Zadok, the priests, and the men of their covenant.”If the Qumran community departed from the path of the people, choosing instead to maintain their covenant with God despite the surrounding depravity, in the future the members of the community will be the chiefs and princes of the Jewish people as a whole, now purified of evil.

God’s Redemption” (Hebrew) in Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Jerusalem, 1961), 49-75. Pesher Nahum confirms the assumptions Licht makes at 58, 73, 74. 67. Licht, “An Eternal Planting,” 71-74.

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We have seen, then, that the Scrolls verify that there were three main parties in Second Temple Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. But while Josephus describes them as philosophical schools, the Qumran writings clas- sify the three in accordance with a scripturally based typology. Thus the Essenes are “the house of Judah,” that is, the portion of Israel that remained faithful to the Lord, while their enemies are described as the two main tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel: the Pharisees Ephraim and the Sadducees Manasseh. Alongside this view we find another typological vocabulary in which the groups are likened to cities. The Qumran community was, needless to say, Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. The Pharisees, conversely, are identified in Pesher Micah with Samaria, the capital of Ephraim, while Pesher Nahum identifies the Pharisees with Nineveh and the Sadducees with Amon (Thebes), cities discussed in the words of the prophet. The use of Jerusalem as a symbol in the Essene writings is of particular interest since the early church too defined itself symbolically as Jerusalem. In Pesher Micah,68 we identified the typological association of Jerusalem with the Council of the Community founded by the Teacher of Righteousness, while Pesher Isaiah links an interpretation concerning Jerusalem in the eschaton to the Essene community (Isaiah 54:11-12).69 Another important passage comes in the very end of 11Q13 (11QMelchizedek),70 in which the eschatological Zion prophecy of Isaiah 52:7 is read as an allusion to the Dead Sea sect. Elsewhere, I have discussed the great importance of Pesher Isaiah 54:11- 12 to understanding the Christian institution of the twelve apostles. Here the key issue is that the author interprets Isaiah’s words regarding eschatological Jerusalem as reference to existing or future institutions of the Qumran community in the end of days. Thus Isaiah’s “[I will] lay your foundations with sapphires” is interpreted as “they will found the council of the Community” and later the fragmentary text refers to the priests and to “the assembly of their elect, like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones” (4Q164 1.3). Similarly the phrase “[I will make] all your wall of precious stones” is taken to refer to “the chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” This fragment is poorly preserved and not

68. D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1, 18. 69. See my article in the Sukenik Memorial Volume, 52-62. 70. On the text and interpretation of this midrash see M. de Jonge and A. S. Van der Woude, “11QMelchizedek and the New Testament,” New Testament Studies 12 (1966), 301-326; J. A. Fitzmyer, “Further Light on Melchizedek from Qumran Cave 11,” JBL 86 (1967), 25-41; Y. Yadin, “A Note on Melchizedek and Qumran,” IEJ 15 (1965), 152-154.

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sufficiently clear, but enough has survived to demonstrate that the interpretation is based on the twofold approach of the community: representing the community as an edifice or a city, and they typologically linking it to Jerusa- lem, the Holy City. These views converge in interpreting Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the different elements of eschatological Jerusalem as symbols for the institutions of the community. The Jerusalem typology of Qumran generally, and the interpretation of Pesher Isaiah in particular, are illuminated by the description of eschatological Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation.71 Here, the author sees “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites....Andthewallofthe city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:10-14). The foundation stones of the city, moreover, are studded with the same precious stones that adorn the breastplate of the high priest (Rev. 21:19-21). The symbols point to an eschatological vision of Jerusalem, with its twelve tribes, while the reference to the foundation stones bearing the names of the twelve apostles clearly indicates that eschatological Jerusalem symbolizes the Christian community in the end of days. This is further demonstrated by the fact that Jerusalem of the eschaton, as described in Revelation, is betrothed as a wife to the Lamb,72 that is, to Jesus Christ (Rev. 21:2, 9), just as Knesset Israel, the Community of Israel, is represented in rabbinic literature as the beloved of God. It is worth noting that the apocryphal 4 Ezra (9.38-10.28) contains the figure of a grieving woman who eventually turns into a city — Zion, that is, the eschatological Jerusalem (10.40-49). In 4 Ezra, however, the woman, i.e., eschatological Jerusalem, has no typological meaning. We have already noted that both the Qumran community and the early church link the city as a symbol of the community with the typology of “congregation-edifice.”73 This view finds expression, e.g., in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians (2:19-22): “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together

71. For further discussion see my article in the Sukenik Memorial Volume. 72. See also 4 Ezra 7.26, according to the Latin and Syriac texts. 73. See above, n. 55.

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spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.” Though never stated explicitly, it is clear that city in Ephesians is Jerusalem in the end of days, the “heavenly” city. It should be further noted that the passage in question combines the two key aspects of the city: on the one hand, it is a symbol of the community, on the other, the residence of the Christian select, who are its citizens. A very similar situation holds in Revelation, where the wondrous vision of eschatological Je- rusalem takes center stage, while the symbolic allusions to the Christian community merge seamlessly into this portrait.74 The belief in a new and wondrous Jerusalem is already found among the biblical prophets, and continues in the apocalyptic literature of the Second Temple and down to the rabbinic corpus.75 It is not surprising then, that alongside the early church, the Qumranites used eschatological Jerusalem to symbolize their community. A number of the Scrolls contain detailed descriptions of the new Jerusalem, though these are not symbolic so much as explicit visions of the eschaton.76 Another important passage that combines an apocalyptic vision with the typological import of heavenly Jerusalem is Hebrews 12:18-24. Here Paul addresses his Christian readers, saying that they have not been part of the awesome events of Mt. Sinai, but rather “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.” The terminology used to describe Mt. Zion and heavenly Jerusalem is clearly apocalyptic. Nonethe- less, the author of the epistle speaks enthusiastically of a divine community made up of angels and men alike. We have already noted that Pesher Micah compares the Essenes to Jerusalem and that the pesher to Isaiah 54:11-12 interprets the biblical prophecy of eschatological Jerusalem as referring to the Qumran community. The same is true of 11QMelchizedek,77 which describes a trial that will take place in the end of days:78 Melchizedek will be the judge and he will “carry out the vengeance of God’s judgments...[and] to his aid shall come all the gods of [justice]” (11Q13 2.13-14). The elect are “the sons of light...themenofthelotofMelchizedek”(11Q13 2.8). The author then inter-

74. The unity of the new Jerusalem, which descends from the heavens as a real eschatological event and as a symbol of the community, is affirmed in Revelation 3:12. 75. See, e.g., P. Volz, Die Eschatologie der jüdischen Gemeinde (Tübingen, 1934), 371-376. 76. See D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave 1, 134-135; Les Petites Grottes de Qumran (Oxford, 1962), 84-89 and 184-193. 77. See above, n. 70. 78. For a discussion see my “Melchizedek and the Son of Man,” Christian News from Is- rael 17 (1966), 23-29.

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prets Isaiah 52:7 — “who says to Zion ‘your god reigns’” — as applying to these elect. “Zion is...those who establish the covenant, those who avoid walking on the path of the people” (11Q13 2.23-24). Who is this figure, whom the text associates with the phrase “your god”? This daring interpretation attributes to Melchizedek the verse “god has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment” (Ps. 82:1). It appears, then, that those scholars are in the right who hold that “your god” in Isaiah 52:7 is also interpreted as signifying Melchizedek, the heavenly judge of all creatures in the end of days. This hypothesis becomes well nigh definite if we recall that the biblical Melchizedek was the king of Sa- lem, traditionally associated with Jerusalem or Zion, of whom Isaiah states “who says to Zion ‘your god reigns’” (Isa. 52:7). For it is “Zion” that is interpreted as “those who establish the covenant, those who avoid walking on the path of the people,” that is, as the Essene sect itself. Indeed, we have already seen that the phrase “avoid walking on the path of the people” defines the separatist tendency within Qumran. The Qumran community, then, is Zion, which will, in the end of days — apparently after the final judgment in which evil will be defeated — be ruled by Melchizedek, King of Salem. The latter, it should be noted, is represented in the text as something of a “son of man,” both human and superhuman. The fragmentary condition of the Melchizedek passage precludes un- equivocal conclusions regarding the image of Zion as the Community. Thus, there is no way to determine just how similar this image is to that found in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Nonetheless, both Hebrews and the Qumran author call eschatological Jerusalem ‘Zion,’ and it may be significant that both texts refer to the covenants that constitute the respective communities — both of which are famously referred to as ‘new covenants’ or ‘new testaments,’79 following Jeremiah 31:31. Already the words of the prophet contain the idea that this new covenant is to be the eschatological replacement of the first, Sinaitic covenant made by God and Israel. And this is indeed the meaning of ‘new covenant’ in the early church and the Damascus Document (CD 1.1-11; 2.14-3.21; 9.20-10.3). The dual covenant theology explains the discussion of Sinai in Hebrews 12:18-24, where he turns to his audience and states that they no longer need the awesome elements of the Sinai theophany, since the new testament of Christ contains no fear and trembling, but only glad tidings. Though not mentioned explicitly, Sinai here symbolizes the old covenant, while Mt. Zion and heavenly Jerusalem — the new.

79. See my “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” 236-242. To the sources cited therein, Sifra to Leviticus 26:9 should be added.

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We know that both the Christians and the Essenes distinguished between the first covenant at Sinai and the new covenant that constituted their respective communities. We have further seen that both groups saw Jerusa- lem and Mt. Zion as symbols of their communities. And though none of the Qumran texts published thus far ties the Zion or Jerusalem typology with the two covenants by associating the first with Mt. Sinai and the second with Mt. Zion,80 it is quite possible that the Essenes did, in typical fashion, link the two. Indeed, the early church may have inherited these images from the Essenes and developed them in their own particular manner. Support for this view is found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians 4:21-31, which contains the same images as Hebrews 12:18-24, but in a distinctly Pauline reworking. The Epistle to the Hebrews was not composed by Paul, and there is evidence to suggest that some of the theological motifs common to the Pauline epistles, the other New Testament epistles, and the Gospel of John — originate in the theological worldview of the Essenes. In his campaign to keep Gentile followers of Jesus from observing the Jewish commandments, Paul writes to the Galatians, “it is written that Abra- ham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother....Nowyou,myfriends, are children of the promise, like Isaac . . . we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman” (Gal. 4:22-31). We have cited this passage at length in order to emphasize Paul’s complex symbolism, and to draw attention to the extreme conclusions he draws regarding the Torah from a conceptual framework that was, it appears, originally Essene. As in the Epistle to the Hebrews, with its softer tone towards the Torah, Paul situates Mt. Sinai and the heavenly Jerusalem as symbols of the old and new covenants, respectively. We have already noted that Jerusalem serves as a symbol of congregation first for the Qumran community and then for the nascent church. In Galatians, Paul notes explicitly that he is referring to the heavenly Jerusalem, not the terrestrial city. True, his opposition to Jeru-

80. On the eschatological Mt. Zion see Jubilees 1.28-29. According to Jubilees 2.26, during the new, eschatological creation, holiness will descend onto four places: the Garden of Eden, the Eastern Mount, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. Zion. On the sanctity of the Garden of Eden, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. Zion, see also Jubilees 8.19. The key issue for our purposes is that the eschatological temple will be located on Mt. Zion.

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salem revolves around the tension between mainstream Jewish society, which does not believe in Jesus, and the young Christian community. But for the Qumran community too Jerusalem is the base of their enemies, the Wicked Priest, the Angry Lion, and those who seek after smooth interpretations, along with the impure temple. For this group too, then, it is not the existing city of their day that is an ideal, but only the symbolic or typological Jerusa- lem; in two of the three passages discussed — Pesher Isaiah and 11QMelchize- dek — it is eschatological Jerusalem that stands as a symbol. Overall, then, we find that heavenly Jerusalem plays a role in the eschatological schemata of both the Qumranites and the New Testament. We have addressed the complex typologies of Hebrews and Galatians, and their similarity to the Essene typology. We have also identified a great similarity in the descriptions of Jerusalem found in Revelation 21 and Pesher Isaiah. It is significant in this context that the heavenly Jerusalem of Revela- tion 21 is also the bride of the lamb, that is, a female symbol of the Christian community and a key to the symbolic language of Galatians. The personifica- tion of women as cities is an established motif in the Hebrew Bible: Jerusalem is, of course, the daughter of Zion or the maiden of Zion, but cities like Baby- lon and Nineveh are described as whores and the like. The same approach transforms Jerusalem into a female figure in 4 Ezra, and — given the typological identification of Jerusalem and the congregation — the woman symbolizes the congregation, as in Revelation. Thus, Paul’s teachings to the Galatian community — Mt. Sinai “in Arabia” is likened to Hagar, the maid- servant, while Zion, i.e., heavenly Jerusalem, is Sarah the free woman — are an original reworking of a symbolic vocabulary attested in the Scrolls and in Second Temple Jewish sources more generally. It is true that Paul uses the technical Greek term ‘allegory’ to characterize his interpretation, and absent contemporary Jewish sources we might think that this was an instance of Greek allegory;81 however the non-Greek Jewish parallels teach us that Paul’s allegory is rooted in indigenous Palestinian Jewish discourse. We have surveyed a number of issues not directly related to Pesher Nahum or even the Dead Sea Scrolls, with the intent of providing a particularly fascinating example of the process by which the religious thought of this

81. See E. Norden, Die antike Kunstprosa (Darmstadt, 1958), 673-674. Norden discusses Philo’s allegorical interpretation of Hagar the handmaiden and Sarah the free woman, an interpretation that is apparently tied to the Stoic allegories on the Odyssey. Norden distinguishes Philo’s allegory from that of Paul’s in Galatians, arguing that the latter is Palestinian Hellenistic. The material adduced in this article, however, indicates that the roots of Paul’s allegory in Galatians are not Hellenistic, though this is not to deny that Paul’s allegory was influenced by the Hellenistic environment, in Galatians and elsewhere.

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sectarian Jewish group was gradually transformed in a novel Christian framework into a doctrine that is hostile to the Torah and to Judaism. It is the separatist zeal of the Essenes, their willingness to break with the path of mainstream Judaism that led to their self-perception as the true Israel, or as the kernel of a future, eschatological Israel. Their separatism was presented in terms of the separation of Judah from the wicked northern kingdom of Israel, which led, in turn, to the identification of their enemies with Ephraim (the Pharisees) and Manasseh (the Sadducees) and themselves with Jerusalem, and especially eschatological Jerusalem. The separatism of this typology is quite pronounced, and it is no coincidence that the same city that is the site of the criminal Wicked Priest and of those seeking after smooth interpretations, becomes the typological symbol of the community. In Galatians 4:25, Paul explicitly states that the symbolic Jerusalem is not identical with “the present Je- rusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.” For the rabbinic sages, to the contrary, the holy city of Jerusalem could not be merely a pale allegory, devoid of the great emotional resonance that the eternal city evoked throughout Jewish history. The same is true of the tribal typology according to which the Qumran community identified itself with Judah and the other Jewish groups with Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribal typology, then, is fundamentally separatist. The Pharisees, who by all accounts — mainstream and sectarian alike — were seen as leaders by most of the Jewish populace, developed an opposing ideology. “All Israel have a share of the world to come,” teaches the Mishnah (m. Sanhedrin 10.1). Natu- rally, there were those among the Pharisees who sought to weaken the force of this rallying cry, and believed that some groups, be they wicked or in error, have no part in the world to come. Nonetheless, the core statement that all Is- rael will be redeemed remained a great Jewish principle even down to the present day. The Essene ideology was altogether different. In some passages they are willing to admit that a sizable portion of the people are not evil but rather have been misled by the Pharisees. Even so, their central ideological line shows no mercy to the Jewish people as a whole. As noted, this separatist tendency found expression in the tribal typology. But as far as the rabbis are concerned, it is well known that they identified Rome with Edom, but it is hard to believe that they would identify their enemies with the children of Ja- cob, the Jewish patriarch. The rabbinic sages knew of the new, eschatological covenant that God would establish with Israel from Jeremiah 31:31: “‘And I will maintain my covenant with you’ (Lev. 26:9), not as the first covenant, which you broke, as it is written: ‘a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after

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those days, says the Lord’ (Jer. 31:32-33)” (Sifra to Leviticus 26:9). This midrash — quite unusual in rabbinic literature — notwithstanding, the Pharisees did not believe that the first Sinaitic covenant was transgressed by most of the nation. The members of the Qumran community, on the other hand, believed themselves to be the only group faithful to the spirit and the letter of the covenant with God. They were, moreover, convinced that their own congregation, with its unique lifestyle and religious observance, is the new covenant of which Jeremiah prophesied. Thus their view that “futile are all those who do not know the covenant, and all those who scorn his word he shall cause to vanish from the world” (1QS 5.19). The early church similarly adhered to a dual-covenant ideology: the first at Sinai and the second with the advent and death of Jesus.82 Christianity could not annul the first covenant without becoming Gnostics, but with the parting of the ways the tension toward the first covenant — the Mosaic Torah and its commandments — grew progressively stronger. Jesus himself is the guarantee of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22), that is, a more perfect covenant since it “has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one” (Heb. 8:6-7). According to the author of Hebrews, then, Jeremiah taught that the first covenant was obsolete, and the obsolete and the old is destined to disappear (Heb. 8:13).83 Still, the Epistle to the Hebrews does not present an absolute break between the obsolete old covenant and the new Christian one, as the former stands in relation to the latter as the flesh to the spirit.84 This, moreover, is the relation that holds in Hebrews 12:18-24, in which the two covenants are likened to Sinai and heavenly Jerusalem, respectively. The author of Hebrews does not present this as a dichotomy but rather two levels, with the later, Christian covenant inhabiting an immeasurably higher position than the terrible and awesome covenant at Sinai. As the above discussion demonstrates, both the dual-covenant theology and the Epistle to the Hebrews’ use of Zion as a symbol for the community have counterparts in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The entire passage, then, represents an interesting Christian development of motifs from the Essene writings. The novelty of this approach lies in the greater tension toward the first, Sinaitic covenant, which Hebrews represents as a concrete mountain (12:18), whereas the symbol of the new community is heavenly Jerusalem. In the parallel pas-

82. Norden, Die antike Kunstprosa, 100. 83. Needless to say, no such tension between the old and new covenants exists in the Essene writings. 84. See O. Michel, Der Brief an die Hebräer (Göttingen, 1966), 284-286.

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sage in Galatians (4:21-31), Paul takes this view so far as to develop a symbolic vocabulary that is inherently offensive to Judaism itself: the symbol of the Jew- ish people and their faith is Ishmael and Hagar, his mother, while Mt. Sinai is referred to as a ‘mountain in Arabia.’ The symbol for the nascent Christian community, however, is Isaac and Sarah, his mother, along with the heavenly Jerusalem: Judaism bears children into slavery, Christianity into freedom. Paul’s complex relation to the Jewish people and the Torah lies beyond the purview of the present discussion. It should be noted, however, that it is by no means as negative as the above passage from Galatians might suggest. In invoking it I have only sought to indicate the potential dangers of the separatist typology of the Essenes, as we know it from Pesher Nahum and the other Qumran Scrolls. In summary: the Dead Sea Scrolls shed new light on Josephus’s statement regarding the three Jewish “schools”: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Though some scholars thought Josephus’s division was artificial, we saw that the Qumran community divides the Jewish populace into the same three religious groups. The accord between Josephus and the Scrolls in this regard serves as further proof that the Dead Sea community is Essene. To be sure, Josephus describes the groups as philosophical schools, while the Essene scribes employ a tribal typology: they are none other than the faithful house of Judah, while their enemies are the two main tribes of Israel who betrayed the Lord — the Pharisees Ephraim, the Sadducees Manasseh. The elucidation of these appellations paves the way, moreover, to an important insight regarding a key element in the Dead Sea community’s history, namely, that the wicked priest may be Aristobulus, the son of Alexander Jannaeus and brother of John Hyrcanus. Furthermore, the Teacher of Righteousness, who founded the community, was still alive during the reign of Alexandra Salome, but survived the persecution of the Sadducees and Pharisees. Alongside the tribal, the Qumran texts employ a second typology that involves cities. Jerusalem, or Zion, which historically served as the capital of Judah, symbolized the Essene community, while other cities designated their opponents. Thus Pesher Micah identifies Samaria with the Pharisees, while in Pesher Nahum Nineveh symbolizes the Pharisees and Thebes the Sadducees. All these typologies can ultimately be traced back to the separatist ideology of the Qumran community. Only a group that takes pride in having broken with the way of mainstream Judaism could associate their rival contemporaries with the names of the northern tribes. Similarly, the group’s self-identification with Jerusalem — though superficially an expression of radical fidelity to the sacred values of Jewish teachings — is in fact the result of the annulment of the positive link between earthly Jerusalem and the Jewish people as a whole. One

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possible result of this approach is evident in the New Testament appropriation of these typologies, which arguably hastened the break between nascent Chris- tianity and Judaism, as the church became predominantly gentile.

Appendix

While this article was in press, Allegro published the texts from Cave 4, some of which had already been published elsewhere.85 These new fragments generally buttress our conclusions. With regard to Jerusalem, it appears that despite their separatist ideology, the Qumran community could not break with their love of the holy city, as two texts that deal with the fall of Jerusalem attest. The first is 4QTanhumin (= 4Q176), the so called Consolations Scroll, whose author cries out to God: “See the corpses of your priests...thereis no one to bury them” (4Q176 1.3-4; based on Psalm 79:2-3).86 It stands to reason that this is a sectarian text,87 while the other, 4QApocryphal Lamenta- tions (= 4Q179), contains no sectarian characteristics but only lamentations over Jerusalem very much in keeping with the biblical Book of Lamenta- tions. The question, then, is whether these two texts reflect Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem. The following is a list of the occurrences of the various topics discussed in the present article: Sadducees: 4Q174 1.17-19; The Evil Priest: 4Q174 4.4; Pharisees: 4Q162 2.6-7, 10; 4Q163 Frag. 23, 2.10-11; 4Q166 2.4-6; 4Q171 1.25-27; 2.13-15, 17-19; 4Q177 2.12; The Man of Deceit: 4Q171 1.25-27; 4.14; The Teacher of Righteousness: 4Q171 1.25-27; 2.17-19; 3.15-17, 19; 4.27; 4Q173 Frag. 1.4. Allegro’s texts also include an important addition to Pesher Nahum, which contains a prophecy regarding God’s destruction of the Romans. After citing Nahum 1:3-4 (up to “he rebukes the sea and makes it dry”), the author states: “Its interpretation: the sea are all the Kittim...tocarryoutjudgment against them and to eliminate them from the face of the earth...withall their chiefs whose rule he will end” (4Q169 fragments 1-2). We stated that the Scrolls use “house of Judah” to designate the Qumran

85. John M. Allegro, Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford, 1968). 86. Thus in 4Q176, fragment 22.1: “And how much more in the temple....” 87. And especially 4Q176, fragments 8-11.15: “Belial to oppress his servants by.”

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community. A newly-published passage from Pesher Tehillim, however, suggests otherwise: “Its interpretation alludes to the ruthless ones of the covenant who are in the House of Judah, who plot to destroy those who observe the law, who are in the Community Council. But God will not surrender them into their hands” (4Q171 2.14-16). The phrase “ruthless ones of the covenant” recurs at 3.12 (and see also Pesher Habakkuk 2.6). If the reference here is to a group that was never part of the Qumran community, then the passage must be a scribal error, since there is no question that “house of Judah” and “those who observe the law” belong together, as both refer to the Essenes. Thus the Scrolls speak of “all observing the Law in the House of Judah” (1QpHab 8.1-2), while those who side with the community are “the simple folk of Judah, those who observe the Law” (Pesher Habakkuk 12.3-5). The Psalms Pesher published by Allegro also contains an important passage concerning the Man of Lies, the leader of the Pharisees: “‘Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices’ (Ps. 37:7): Its interpretation concerns the Man of Lies who misdirected many with deceptive words, for they have chosen worthless things and did not listen to the Interpreter of Knowledge. This is why they will die by the sword, by hunger, and by plague” (4QpPsa 1.25-2.1). Note that the Pharisee leader is associated not only with the biblical phrase “who carry out evil devices” but also “who prosper in their way,” since indeed the majority of the nation supported the Pharisees. He “misdirected many with deceptive words,”a phrase reminiscent of the “fraudulent teaching” of the “misleaders from Ephraim” by which they “misdirect many,” as discussed in Pesher Nahum (2.8-10). It is interesting that the new passage of Pesher Psalms accuses the Pharisees of having “chosen worthless things.”88 The Hebrew owlk, ‘worthless things,’ may also be translated as ‘lenient matters’ and opposed with the stricter owrwmj, a division familiar from the rabbinic corpus. The halakhically stricter Essenes89 may have seen the Pharisees (with a good degree of justification) as having “chosen lenient matters.” Against the Man of Lies, “who misdirected many with his deceptive words,” we find the Interpreter of Knowledge,90 whose words were not

88. The Damascus Document states that the Pharisees “sought smooth interpretations and chose illusions” (1.18; cf. Isaiah 30:10). 89. On the Sabbath laws of the Essenes see Josephus, BJ 2.147. 90. The author of the Hodayot says of himself: “You have set me like a banner for the elect of justice, like a knowledgeable mediator of secret wonders” (1QH 10.13). But the entire membership of Qumran is similarly referred to as “mediators of knowledge” (1QH 23.6), while the Pharisees are “mediators of error” (1QH 10.14), “mediators of deceit” (1QH 10.31), “mediators of deception” (1QH 12.7), and “mediators of fraud and seers of deceit” (1QH 12.9-10).

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heeded. This is the Teacher of Righteousness, a figure whose centrality is recognized by all students of the Scrolls. The new texts confirm a particular detail concerning his life. The sectarian Pesher Psalms says of the verse “my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe” (Ps. 45:2), “Its interpretation concerns the Teacher of Righteousness...[grantedby]Godwiththereplyofthe tongue” (4QpPsa 4.27), an apparent reference to the literary work of the Teacher of Righteousness.

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17. The Apocryphal Psalms of David

Written with Shmuel Safrai

The Psalms of Israel’s King, David Dedicated to Tzvi ben Yohanan Flusser, By his grandfather, David Flusser

Some time ago we published in memory of our friend, Meir Grintz, two double-sided pages from the Cairo Genizah containing apocryphal “Psalms of David.” As we will see, these are probably the remnants of a large apocryphal work composed during the Second Temple period, and that made its way from Qumran to the Genizah in the same way as did the Damascus Doc- ument and the Aramaic Testament of Levi, fragments of which were found at Qumran. The nature of the texts was pointed out to us by the workers of the manuscript department at the Jewish National and University Library when they received a facsimile of the manuscript. E. E. Urbach, of the Talmud De- partment at the Hebrew University, discovered that the text had already been published by A. Harkavy in the ha-Goren 3 (1902), 82-85. Harkavy describes the manuscript as “two attached parchment pages, containing the prayers and praises of a man who apparently thought of himself as a prophetic and messianic figure.”They are housed in the Antonine collection of the Genizah, in Leningrad. We used both the facsimile copy and Harkavy’s published text, with some minor corrections:

I. Revealed before you are the righteous and the evil; you want not for human witnesses: Judge of generations, your rulings are just, Knowing in the ways of all living things: You desire justice and despise injustice;

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The boastful will not stand before your glory: You divided the world into darkness and light, into pure and impure, justice and lie: 5 You cast off from your nation all aliens, purifying your flock of impure beasts: You bestow upon your servant your mighty wisdom; he understands all according to your desire: You have planted righteousness in the land of truth, multiplying justice throughout eternity: All who worship your name are learned of song, all those who believe the words of your servant: Their righteousness is increased in the sight of all the land and of those who do justice, whom they love in their hearts: 10 You have set their path toward your commandments, extending their might through your wondrous deeds: For all eternity they worship your name, glorifying it forevermore: Who is like you in deeds, who in exploits, who is like you in your many great feats: You have forgiven and absolved us our sins, lovingly exonerated all our transgressions: Your spirit prophesies through your servant; for you draw the end near, it will tarry no more: 15 You vowed of old to your servant David, mercifully anointing the shoot of Jesse: You sustained his authority in your sanctity for he spread your praise to the ends of the earth: You set his name as an eternal pillar; he repairs the breach and rebuilds the ruins: A cornerstone despised by the builders you have raised to the headstone above all nations: Joyfully you crown him with glory, calling him the splendor of all nations: 20 You multiplied justice and righteousness in his day, peace and blessings forever beyond counting: All the elect of justice rejoice before you for they glory in the beloved land: You have sanctified through him the holy name, and he recounts daily the songs of your might: You made him greater than all the angels,

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establishing him as king of all nations forever: You broke before him all the kings of Midian, drowning in the abyss all those who hate him: 25 You sustain his right arm, bearing the sword, giving strength to his arm over all the warriors of Kedar: His leg will not stumble for he trusts in your name; his power will not wane for you lovingly aid him: Blessed is the man whose faith is in your teaching for he shall not be shamed forevermore:

II. My soul trusts in you, answer me in your grace; blessed are you, O Lord God, who answers his servant at the time that he calls unto him: Merciful God, have mercy upon us; blessed is the name of the glory of his kingdom forever: Blessed is the name of his glory forever; blessed are you, O Lord God of Israel, for all eternity; And the entire people said Amen: On the second day of Iyar I beheld a vision and all his prophecies, and I prayed before the Lord, saying: 5 May your mercy, O Lord our God, rest upon the flock doomed to slaughter; the shepherds have killed it without mercy: Mercifully bind the crushed bones; heal lovingly the wounds of your lot: For you have placed me before you for the sake of the world; you have placed me in your might as a light to the nations: 10 Let the rulers gather, all the kings of the earth, the lords of the world and the rulers of man: That they may see the might of your right hand and understand the mystery of your holy teachings: Let the righteous man be gladdened when he sees this, rejoicing before you with hymns and gratitude: Let all the inhabitants of the earth learn from me, repenting their ways to worship you in faith: 15 They will greet your presence with thanksgiving, with hymns and songs and giving thanks: Magnifying your glory within their encampment let them know that you, O Lord, created them: All who worship idols shall be shamed

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for they will come to recognize their statues: No longer will they worship idols nor bow down to artifacts: The idols will utterly pass away, their delights lost forever: 20 All your creatures will glorify and sanctify you from now and for all eternity: Your servant will speak of your wondrous deeds according to his strength and the spirit of his words: For I take joy in nothing save your teachings and the appearance of your glory: For the sake of your great mercies, do not hide yourself from me; do not cause me to die for their love: For I have loved your residence more than all the palaces of kings: 25 The teachings of your mouth are better for me than a myriad of gold bullion: Your sacred words are better for me than any fine garment: The commandments of your will are better for me than the precious stones and pearls, the desire of kings:

III. Blessed is he who finds glory in the wishes of your will; for your sake I shall indeed request of you: This is my desire and my only wish that I reside in your presence forever: To walk in your righteousness without sin and pursue your truth every day, as is right in your eyes: Do not deny me this request; fulfill my request as though it were the wish of your will: 5 I will set myself in them for all eternity, knowing the paths of your righteousness: Blessed be God who does this, blessed the one who performs these feats: Blessed be he who selected his servant and who fulfills all the wishes of my heart: Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever, blessed be the name of his glory forever:

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Blessed is the Lord God of Israel for all eternity, and the people respond: Amen: 10 On the third day of Iyar I beheld a vision and all his prophecies, and I prayed before the Lord, saying: Blessed be he who impoverishes and enriches, blessed be he who lays low and raises on high: For he had raised the lowly from the dust, the poor man from the refuse heap: He made his throne greater than all ministers, his power mightier than all rulers: 15 He gave all that kings desire, the might of nations and treasures of kings: Kings’ daughters for his glory, daughters of Jerusalem for the glory of his kingdom: His blessed ones speak for all eternity; all the mighty of the earth will bow before him: They will put their trust in the Lord for he has done mighty deeds, no longer going astray after vanity and error: For all will know the Lord from the mightiest man to the most humble: 20 For the Lord is judge over the entire world; he sets one on high while laying the other low: Hegivestowhomhewill, providing an inheritance for the poorest of men: For the soul of every man is in his power, and the spirit of all flesh will bow down to him: Sing to him, raise your voices in song, speak all his great deeds: Sing to his name at all times for splendor and might are befitting him: 25 He saved the soul of his beloved from the straits and the spirit of his righteous ones from all harm: For he trusts in his name and in the glory of the vision and in his holy words, in all the paths of life: Forever will we worship his name, speaking his might for all eternity.

IV. For he heals the brokenhearted, bandages the bones of the downtrodden:

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He turns sorrow to joy, fear and trembling to refuge: For his is the earth and all that is in it, the universe and all its inhabitants: He has commanded his servant before him, the splendor and brilliance and glory of his kingship: 5 He wills the good of his people, sending the healer to heal their flesh: He made weighty his teaching upon his servant, his commands by the agency of his trusted messenger: He magnified wisdom and understanding in his heart, great sanctity without measure: Who is like him, who compares to him who has not forgotten the cry of the poor? He recalled in his abundant mercies the poor and the downtrodden; I too recalled the mighty deed and power of his kingship, the splendor of his power: 10 Night and day I stand before him, blessing his memory for all his creatures: May you be blessed and glorified, master of the generations, sanctified and glorified, the governor of all creatures: May the mouths of all your servants speak your unity, righteous and true judge: Blessed are you Lord God, who kindly recalls his servant’s covenant forever: Blessed is the name of the glory of his kingship forevermore, blessed is the name of his glory forever: 15 Blessed is the Lord God of Israel for all eternity, and the people say: Amen. On the fourth day of Iyar I beheld a vision and all his prophecies, and I prayed before the Lord, saying: Blessed is he for he has broken the wicked and raised up the horn of the righteous: His knowledge and wisdom are in my heart, for you are the righteous judge: 20 No false judgment will you proclaim but only truth and faithfulness: You give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings: There is no deceit in your actions,

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no falsity in your words: Your action is wholly pure, no injustice in your deeds: You have multiplied your judgment like a flowing river, growing your righteousness like a blessed seed: 25 Blessed is he who receives your holiness; he will speak of your glory every day: My support lies in the presence of your glory for eternity to stand in your will: For yesterday and today blessed are they that keep your commandments:

This is the end of the fourth page; no more is extant. Who is the true author of these psalms, and who is the assumed author? Or, in Harkavy’s words, who is this prophet and messiah? The poet speaks as though he lives in the time of the temple, and is intimately tied to the temple, saying “For I have loved your residence more than all the palaces of kings.” The author also appears to be a prophet, for “I take joy in nothing save your teachings and the appearance of your glory.”He writes his psalms after seeing “a vision and all his prophecies,” and then he prays and recites the next poem. Prior to the final extant psalm he provides a more precise definition: “On the fourth day of Iyar I beheld a vision and all his prophecies, and I prayed before the Lord, saying.”According to this statement, then, his psalms are the result of a vision he experiences through the divine spirit. But the poet does not just cast himself as a poet from the time of the temple; he is nothing less than the king of Israel. God has elevated “his throne greater than all ministers; his power mightier than all rulers. He gave all that kings desire; the might of nations and treasures of kings. Kings’ daughters for his glory; daughters of Jerusalem for the glory of his kingdom.” Our author, then, likens himself to the king and ancient prophet of Israel, living alongside the temple. Moreover, he writes all this in the style of the psalms, which leads us to the conclusion that this is the remnant of pseudepigraphal psalms attributed to David himself. Confirmation that this view comes from the author’s desire to be associated with a biblical character is evident in his decision to write out the tetragrammaton, a decision dutifully followed by the copyist of the Genizah manuscript, who apparently recognized the special nature of this text.1 Needless to say, the copyist

1. The employment of the tetragrammaton cannot be counted as definitive proof that the author sought to attribute his text to the biblical period. The author of Sefer Josippon, who wrote in 953 c.e. and did not deny his authorship, similarly uses the tetragrammaton. He was,

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shared the common view that the biblical psalms were written — largely or exclusively — by David, so there is no difficulty with the fact that the author, who uses the name David, speaks of the temple as if it existed during his reign, while speaking of ‘David’ in the third person: “You vowed of old to your servant David.” Both phenomena, after all, are attested in the biblical psalms.2 In trying to piece together the image of David in the apocryphal psalms, we can, then, make use both of what the psalmist says of himself and of what is reported of David in the third person. As we will see, these elements form a complete and fascinating portrait. But before we turn to this question, we must first examine when this collection was composed. As noted, the Cairo Genizah contains copies of Qumran compositions. And, indeed, we have reports of medieval discoveries of ancient Hebrew manuscripts, the most important of which for the present discussion is found in a Syriac epistle by the Nestorian Bishop Timotheos.3 Timotheos recounts that he has heard from reliable Jews who were about to convert to Christianity, that ten years earlier a trove of biblical and other scrolls, all written in Hebrew, had been discovered outside Jericho and had found their way to the Jewish community in Jerusalem. One of his Jewish sources even told Timotheos: “Among these scrolls we found more than two hundred psalms of David.”Needless to say, there is no way to assess the nature of this discovery. We can only hypothesize that these Hebrew scrolls discovered near Jericho originated in Qumran and that they found their way from the Jewish community of Jerusalem to Cairo, thus explaining their presence in the famous Genizah. It is particularly noteworthy that one of the Jews referred to more than two hundred psalms from the cave, though we cannot know that these are in any way related to the text whose remnants are here under discussion. Be that as it may, there are Qumran psalms attributed to King David: the Psalms Scroll published by Sanders includes apocryphal

however, an unusual character for his day. See D. Flusser (ed.), Sefer Josippon (Jerusalem, 1981), Vol. 2, n. 496. 2. For the third person see 2 Samuel 22:51; 23:1; Psalm 132 and Psalm 18:51: “Great tri- umphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descen- dants forever.” David is also referred to in the third person in Psalm 89 (heading: “A Maskil for Ethan the Ezrahite”), which was an important source of inspiration for our author. The psalm tells of David’s election and anointing, and of his kingship over the entire world. The phrase “do not hide yourself from me” at II.23, may be akin to Psalm 89:47, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?” 3. See M. Burrows, The Dead Sea Scrolls (New York, 1955), 41. On similar medieval discoveries see pp. 117-118. Otto Eissfeldt recognized the importance of the epistle for Dead Sea Scroll scholarship. The epistle itself was originally published by O. Braun, “Ein Brief des Katholikos Timotheos I über biblische Studien des 9. Jahrhunderts,” Oriens Christianus 1 (1901), 300-313.

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psalms alongside the biblical, so it is clear that the Essenes preserved the latter as well.4 As far as we could ascertain, however, the Qumran texts do not contain so much as a single fragment of our text. If these apocryphal psalms did in fact originate in the Qumran library, it may be that they simply did not survive though it is also possible that they were removed in their entirety and thus found their way into the hands of medieval Jews. If so, they simply were no longer there when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Interestingly, the Qumran Psalms Scroll contains an inventory of David’s compositions,5 including the prima facie fantastic number of four thousand five hundred psalms. Yet we see here that even far-flung statements should not be rejected out of hand. For while it is difficult to imagine that there existed a workgroup able to compose such a great corpus and attribute it to King David, it would appear that at least some portion of this work was in fact completed. For the Psalms Scroll states that David composed “four thousand and fifty” songs (11Q5 27.10)! And indeed we find in the two Genizah pages psalms of David composed for the first, second, third and fourth of Iyar. Thus, the Qumran text complements the results of the internal analysis of the Genizah texts, a strong argument in favor of an early dating of our Genizah Psalms. Only clear internal evidence belying the possibility that these psalms were composed while the temple still stood could indicate that the complementary relationship between this text and the Qumran psalms is mere coincidence. If, however, the Psalms Scroll does indicate that there were psalms attributed to David during its composition, then the Genizah Psalms were written before the Qumran text, that is, following Sanders, before the first half of the first century c.e. Moreover, if these are the psalms referred to in the Dead Sea Scrolls, then they were produced in the same milieu as the Qumran community, in other words, they are also Essene. The Essene origins of the Qumran psalm inventory are evident in the number of daily psalms mentioned, 364, corresponding to the number of days in the calendar shared by the Scrolls, the Book of Jubilees, and 1 Enoch — the latter two works composed within the broader group that gave rise to the Qumran community.6 As noted, the

4. J. A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (Oxford, 1965). 5. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll, 91-93. 6. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll, 91, and n. 1. The particular calendar is attested in the following: “and for the Sabbath offerings: fifty-two songs” (11Q5 27.7) — referring to the number of Sabbaths in the year. At the same time we also find “for the offerings of the first days of the months, and for all the days of the festivals, and for the Day of Atonement: thirty songs” (11Q5 27.7-9). This number corresponds to the standard “festivals” and does not refer to the additional festivals in the Temple Scroll. At the end of the inventory we find: “And songs to perform over the possessed (fyewgph le): four” (11Q5 27.10). This phrase is also known from a baraita pre-

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Genizah contains only two pages of the composition. However, even if we had a way of ascertaining that the entire corpus was completed, that is, that 364 daily psalms were composed,7 there would be no way to determine that the entire composition came into the possession of medieval Jewish communities, i.e., that these are two extant pages of a once complete work. Be all that as it may, these speculations have no effect on the discussion at hand. It is noteworthy that apparently the Psalms Scroll from Qumran not only mentions our composition, but that it discusses the divine inspiration that rested upon David in his writing. The passage opens with the statement: “And David, son of Jesse, was wise, and a light like the light of the sun” (11Q5 27.2), while the Genizah psalms read “you have placed me in your might as a light to the nations” (2.8; based on Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). The Qumran psalms then state that “YHWH gave him a discerning and enlightened spirit” (11Q5 27.4), and conclude with the words, “All these [David] spoke through the spirit of prophecy which had been given to him from before the Most High” (11Q5 27.11). The same position is attested in the Genizah psalms, at the opening of each and every psalm: prior to composing the psalm, David is allowed

served in the Palestinian Talmud Eruvin 10.23c, as well as Shabbat 6.8b: “We learn from a Tannaitic source: they say there was a song of the possessed (fyegp lq ryq) in Jerusalem . . . what is ‘a song of the possessed’? ‘How many are my foes’ and the rest of the psalm [= Psalm 3], ‘You who live in the shelter of the Most High’ (Ps. 91:1) until ‘For you, Lord, are my refuge’ (Ps. 91:9).”Compare Yalkut ha-Makhirit to Psalm 3:8 (p. 24 in the Buber edition), as well as Rabbenu Hananel’s commentary to b. Shevuot 15b and HaMeiri to Sanhedrin, p. 328. See furthermore Numbers Rabbah 12.3, and B. Uffenheimer, “Psalm 152 from Qumran” (Hebrew), Molad 22 (1965), 1-12. 7. As noted, it is hard to imagine that there were ever 4,500 psalms. The statement “And he wrote psalms: three thousand six hundred” (11Q5 27.4-5) is, in all likelihood, a figment of the author’s imagination. However, the two Genizah pages do suggest that the rest of the enterprise was completed, despite the great number of poems involved. The Qumran text states: “And he wrote...songs to be sung before the altar over the perpetual offering of every day, all the days of the year: three hundred and sixty four; and for the Sabbath offerings: fifty-two songs; and for the offerings of the first days of the months, and for all the days of the festivals and for the Day of Atonement: thirty songs” (11Q5 27.4-8). This amounts to four hundred and fifty psalms in total, a large number but — unlike 3,600 psalms — not fantastic. The Genizah text suggests that there were 364 daily psalms, to which would be added psalms for the Sabbath sacrifices, for the new months, for all the festivals and for Yom Kippur. If we add four more psalms “to perform over the possessed,”we add 86 psalms to the 364. It is worth noting that the psalm for the first of Iyar is unique in that it is written in acrostic. The letters aleph and bet are no longer extant, and the new page begins with gimel (“Revealed [galui] before you...”)andends, on line 25, with tav (“You support [tamakhta]...”).Theletters kaf, mem, nun, pe}, and tzadik begin two verses each. Instead of the letter he}, our acrostic has a het. The substitution of these letters is a common- place in rabbinic literature, as the Palestinian Talmud (Shabbat 7.9b) states that the sages consider these letters interchangeable in their exposition of the text.

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to see “a vision and all his prophecies.” Indeed, the poet states that he “take[s] joy in nothing save your teachings and the appearance of your glory” (2.22). The phrase “appearance of your glory” is taken from Exodus 24:17, where it refers to the Sinai epiphany, and appears in the same framework in a Qumran discussion of the Ten Commandments: “And you have renewed your covenant with them in the vision of glory, and in the words of your holy spirit, by the works of your hand” (1Q34 Frag. 3, 2.6-7). The parallel between the Qumran corpus and the Genizah psalms is significant, as their author attributes to himself the gift of prophecy: “Your spirit prophesies through your servant for you draw the end near, it will tarry no more” (1.14). This last phrase recalls Ben Sira’s eschatological prayer (36.10): “Hasten the day and remember the appointed time.” Both these later verses are ultimately dependent upon Isaiah 60:22: “I am the Lord; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.” Clearly, then, the author of the Psalms of David presents himself as a prophet prophesying regarding the end of days. We just mentioned the transition passages between the psalms. They are quite similar, with minor differences at their end. The connection between the previous psalm and the transition is regularly created by the word ‘blessed’ (barukh), which opens the final doublet of the psalm and then is repeated in the transition doxology.8 The first is: “Blessed is the name of the glory of his kingdom forever,”9 a phrase that has its origins in the Temple. The second doxological statement is quite similar: “blessed is the name of his glory forever,” which recalls the end of the second book of the Psalter (Ps. 72:19): “Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth.” The third transition statement is “Blessed are you, O Lord God of Is- rael, for all eternity, and the entire people said Amen.” This very statement concludes the fourth book of the Psalter (Ps. 106:48, and see the similar verse at the end of the first book, Ps. 41:14). The three doxological statements are, then, an imitation of the concluding verses of the biblical Psalter, but also the first statement once uttered in the temple. After the three statements, the author introduces the date of the next psalm and reaffirms that he is writing it on the basis of a vision and prophetic inspiration. We are working on the assumption that these apocryphal psalms were attributed to David, the king, prophet, and poet, and that they were com-

8. This is also true of the second book in the Psalter (Ps. 72:18-19): “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.” 9. On this phrase and its meaning, see D. Flusser, “Sanktus und Gloria,” O. Betz, M. Hengel, and P. Schmidt (eds.), Abraham unser Vater: Festschrift für Otto Michel (Leiden, 1963), 138-139.

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posed during the Second Temple period and were part of the same movement from which the Qumran community emerged. In what follows we will provide evidence that we believe points to the historical setting in which these Psalms of David were composed. There are, however, a number of potential counterarguments to be addressed, e.g., that the fragments speak of the month of Iyar, since the Babylonian months are attested in rabbinic literature but not in the apocalyptic and visionary texts of the apocrypha (to say nothing of the biblical David). However, the Babylonian month names made their way to Israel following Cyrus’s decree and are attested in the biblical books composed after the return to Zion.10 If so, there is no reason to think that the names of the months were interpolated by medieval copyists: they were familiar to the author, who did not see them as anachronistic since they appear in the Hebrew Bible. A more serious problem is the form hoet, rather than hoetn at 1.7 — undoubtedly chosen because the acrostic required a line beginning with tet. It is true that this form is only known from much later He- brew poetry, but why would we assume that it could not be used in an earlier acrostic text? Especially since there are so few reliable witnesses to the Hebrew poetry of the period. It is worth noting the hymn in 2 Samuel 22:41, “You made (hoo) my enemies turn their backs to me,” which contains a similar form in the middle of the verse, i.e., not motivated by the formal requirement of the acrostic. The same hymn repeats in Psalm 18, but there (v. 41) the form hoo is replaced with the more regular hoon.11

10. See the Entziklopedia Miqra}it 3.39. The rabbinic names of the months are also found in Megillat Ta}anit. 11. The early dating of the apocryphal psalms is also challenged by 2.25-27: “The teachings of your mouth are better for me than a myriad of gold bullion. Your sacred words are better for me than any fine garment. The commandments of your will are better for me than the precious stones and pearls, the desire of kings.” This passage is based on Psalm 119:72, “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”Now, according to m. Avot 6.9, Rabbi Yosef ben Qisma cites this verse in response to a man who offered him “thousands of denarii of gold and precious stones and pearls” if he would come to live in the man’s town. The word margaliyot, ‘pearls,’is Greek. Are these verses dependent on chapter six of m. Avot, or perhaps the phrase “precious stones and pearls” precedes the Avot passage? It is also possible that the words “pearls, the desire of kings” were added by a medieval scribe familiar with the Avot passage, since they expand the parallelism. Needless to say, the Genizah psalms exhibit a literary dependence upon the biblical psalms. Thus, “the boastful will not stand before your glory” at 1.3 alludes to “the boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers” (Ps. 5.6). The He- brew llwh, here translated ‘boastful,’ appears as ‘sinners’ in the Septuagint, while the singular noun means ‘lie’ in the Hodayot (see Licht, Megillat ha-Hodayot, 90). Similarly, when our author says of God “Blessed be he who impoverishes and enriches; blessed be he who lays low and raises on high: For he had raised the lowly from the dust, the poor man from the refuse heap,” the language is clearly influenced by the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:7-8. The psalm continues

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Another interesting linguistic phenomenon involves the verse “You have sanctified through him the holy name and he recounts daily the songs of your might” (1.22). The phrase “songs of your might” is based on Psalm 59:17, where David declares “I will sing of your might.” The nominal phrase is attested in the qedusha prayers:12 “Our eyes shall behold your kingdom as the word stated in the songs of your might by David your righteous messiah,” which is followed by Psalm 146:10. At 4.12 God is called “righteous and true judge,” corresponding to the statement in Mishnah Berakhot 9.2: “Upon hearing bad tidings, one says: blessed is the true judge.” It appears the sages based their statement on a dictum that was current at the time, for the Qumran psalm similarly states: “May the judge of truth turn away from me the recompenses of evil” (11Q5 24.6). Another statement is cited in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai: “Blessed is the true judge, the master of all deeds, you who have neither injustice nor impartiality in your presence.”13 The com-

“He made his throne greater than all ministers, his power mightier than all rulers,”which recalls the statement in Esther 3:1 that King Ahasuerus “advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him,”though this is said of Haman, so it is more likely that the inspiration comes from 1 Kings 1.37: “As the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solo- mon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David” (and see also 1 Kings 1:47). And if the author says of King David “You multiplied justice and righteousness in his day, peace and blessings forever beyond counting,” we hear in the background the words of the Chronicler, speaking of Solomon, “I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days” (1 Chr. 22:9). However, the phrase “blessings forever” is taken from a Psalm to David (21:7): “you bestow on him blessings forever.”The phrase “For the soul of every man is in his hand and the spirit of all flesh will bow down to him” is a paraphrase of Job 12:10. Another paraphrase of this same verse is found in one of the Qumran psalms: “For in your hand is the soul of every living being, the breath of all flesh you have given” (11Q5 19.3-4). The phrase “the idols will be utterly banished” (2.19) is taken from Isaiah 2:18. The statement at 4.21, “you give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings” is from Jeremiah 17:10 and 32:19, while “flock doomed to slaughter” at 2.6 is from Zechariah 11:4, 7. Finally, the apocryphal psalmist says that David “repairs the breach and rebuilds the ruins” (1.17), a phrase that follows Isaiah 58:12, and is applied to David on the basis of Psalm 89:41, “you have broken through all his walls.” 12. The passage is attested in the prayer book of Rav Amram (p. 32 in the Goldschmidt edition), Maimonides, the Yemenite liturgy, Tefilat Yom Yom, and in the Ashkenazic liturgy of the Sabbath and holiday morning prayers — all cited in Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 54-62. In addition to these sources, we should also mention the Qafa prayer book for the High Holy Days, the liturgy of the Jews of Persia, and the prayer book of Rav Saadia Gaon (Jerusalem, 1963), 38. Yannai’s Sabbath liturgy does not, however, contain this language. The phrase “with the songs of your might,” Fzwe yryqb, appears only in the Ashkenazic traditions and in Rav Amram, while other witnesses read “the kingdom of your might,” owclm Fzwe, and “songs of your sanctity,” Fqdk yryq. It would appear that the eastern manuscripts have omitted ‘your might,’ Fzwe, which is to be preferred if only because of Psalm 59:17. 13. Sifre Deuteronomy §304 (Hammer edition, p. 293), and Heinemann, Prayer in the

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bination of addressing God as a true judge and referring to his creatures is repeated in the Genizah psalms: “May you be blessed and glorified, master of the generations; sanctified and glorified, the governor of all creatures” (4.11). It appears to us that the entire passage is significant for the evolution of Jew- ish prayer and doxology and, inter alia, for the history of the Qaddish.14 A similar phrase “All your creatures will glorify and sanctify you” appears at 2.20. Further, immediately following 4.11 we read “May the mouths of all your servants speak your unity,”indicating that God’s name is unified in the prayer of his servants. At 1.10 we find: “You have set their path toward your commandments extending their might (fjwc horqyw) through your wondrous deeds.” Now we can examine the history of the rabbinic phrase “may your strength be extended” (Fjc rqyy).15 Speaking of David, our text says to God, “You placed

Tannaitic and Amoraic Period (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1964), 161. We have had occasion to discuss the phrase “true judge” (4.12) as an epithet of God, and should mention in this context the Ara- maic Qumran fragment from the Book of Enoch 22.14 which contains the phrase atqwk vyd, ‘judge (or judgment) of truth’ (4Q205 1.2). The Hebrew “true judge” (oma vyd) has no biblical precedent. The epithets “righteous judge” (kdxh tpwq; 1.2, 4.19 and kdx tpwq; 4.12) are based on “righteous judgment” in Psalm 9:5 and Jeremiah 11:20. Interestingly, two phrases in the Genizah psalms are very similar to the mourning liturgy of the sages, so much so that a comprehensive comparison of the two suggests a literary connection. One of the blessings in the mourning liturgy, cited in the name of Mar Zutra, begins: “The good and beneficent, the true God and true judge who judges in righteousness, who takes with judgment and rules over his world, doing in it as he wishes” (b. Berakhot 46b). Another version is preserved in the tractate Semakhot 14.15: “Blessed is the true judge, who rules over his creatures, who judges all generations in righteousness. We are all with him and slaves to him, and for all that it is incumbent upon us to thank him and bless him.”Both versions contain the phrase “judges in righteousness” (kdxb tpwq), which also appears in the Genizah psalms (1.2; 4.12, 19), as well as in the blessing “true judge” which is recited by the mourner. The other parallel occurs in 4.11-12: “May you be blessed and glorified, master of the generations; sanctified and glorified, the governor of all creatures. May the mouths of all your servants speak your unity, righteous and true judge.”The phrase “master of the generations” (4.11) parallels “judge of generations” (1.2) and is similar to the mourning blessing in Semakhot: “who judges all generations in righteousness.”Furthermore, the Genizah psalms state that God is “governor of all creatures” (4.11) while tractate Semakhot reads, “who rules over his creatures,” and b. Berakhot, “rules over his world.” It appears, then, that ancient phrases turn up in Tannaitic and even late Amoraic literature. The images common to the Genizah psalms and the mourning liturgy invoke God as a just and righteous judge who governs over all generations and rules his creatures — images that may well be comforting to the mourners. 14. The earliest source is, of course, Ezekiel 38:23: “I will display my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” 15. See b. Shabbat 87a, and the sources cited in J. Levy, Wörterbuch über die Talmudim und Midraschim (Berlin, 1924), 2.275.

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his name as an eternal pillar.”Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai is famously referred to as “the right pillar” (b. Berakhot 28b, based on 1 Kings 7:21, and see also “the righteous is an eternal foundation” in Proverbs 10:25); the three most important disciples of Jesus were called “pillars”16; and the biblical patriarchs are “three great stakes in the world.”17 Prior to the praise of the ancestors in Ben Sira the Hebrew manuscripts read “Praise of the Fathers of the World,”18 and Hillel and Shammai were referred to as “the fathers of the world.” Ac- cording to one rabbinic midrash, we are told that when God sought to create the world, he foresaw Abraham and said “I have found a foundation on which to establish the world,”19 while another states that God said to Moses “you are standing on the site of the pillar of the world,” referring to Abraham in the same epithet our psalmist uses for David.20 Incidentally, here and elsewhere, the Hebrew {olam appears both in a spatial (‘world’) and temporal sense (‘eternity’), unlike the Dead Sea Scrolls, which employ only the latter. That said, it should be noted that ultimately, the Genizah psalms assert, the nations of the world “will put their trust in the Lord for he has done mighty deeds no longer going astray after vanity and error” (3.18), using a word for ‘error,’ mishgeh, that occurs only once in the Bible (Genesis 43:12), but recurs in the Qumran Scrolls. There as here it serves as a technical term for a religious mistake. Thus we find in 1 QHa 10:20-21: “You placed in his heart to open the source of knowledge for all those who understand. But they have changed them for an uncircumcised lip and weird tongue of a people without understanding, and so they will be ruined by their mistake (mishgatam).” While the Damascus Document states: “Jacob’s sons strayed because of them and were punished in accordance with their mistakes (mishgotam)” (3.4-5). Still another Qumran document speaks of “those who turn aside from the path of the wicked” (4Q174 fragment 1.14). It is this strong, theological sense of mishgeh employed in the Genizah psalms. Let us return to the manner in which the Genizah psalms portray King David. One of the psalms refers to him as “A cornerstone despised by the builders you have raised to the headstone above all nations” (1.18), a paraphrase of Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the

16. Galatians 2:9, and see F. Mussner, Der Galaterbrief (Freiburg, 1974), 120-121. 17. See E. E. Urbach, The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs, translated by Israel Abrams (Cambridge, Mass., 1975), 500, n. 70. See also S. Lieberman, Greek in Jewish Palestine (New York, 1942), 106-108; idem, “A Comment on Jewish Oaths” (Hebrew), The Gershom Scholem Festschrift (Jerusalem, 1958), 58-59. 18. See the discussion in Segal’s Hebrew edition (Jerusalem, 1959), 303. 19. Yalkut Shim{oni to Number 23:9. 20. Exodus Rabba 2.13.

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chief cornerstone.”This verse was interpreted by Jesus as a reference to himself (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17), and this connection is repeated elsewhere in the New Testament.21 The sages, in contrast, relate the verse to David:22 Da- vid is the stone that is despised by the builders, these being his brothers, when he is chosen to be king. Apparently the author of the Genizah psalms interpreted the verse in a similar manner: David was “the youngest” (1 Sam. 16:11), but ultimately God elevated him to be “the headstone above all nations” — an apparent gloss on the biblical “the chief cornerstone.” We find a similar motif in the Qumran psalms: “He sent his prophet to anoint me, Samuel to make me great. My brothers went out to meet him, handsome of figure and handsome of appearance. Though they were tall of stature, handsome by their hair, YHWH God did not choose them” (11Q5 28.8-10). It appears, then, that this interpretation is free of any messianic overtones, unlike the psalm that follows, where we read: “You have made him greater than all the angels” (1.23) — that is, David is greater even than the angels! Similar statements are known from midrashic sources preserved in the Tanhuma collection.23 Isaiah 52:13 states: “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.”The Targum glosses ‘my servant’ as ‘my servant the Messiah,’ while the sages interpret the verse as indicating that the Messiah “will be exalted above Abraham, lifted up above Moses, and very high above the ministering angels.” To be sure, this interpretation is preserved in a late midrashic collection, but its origins are ancient as it is based on one of the core assumptions of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews. Paul states there that Christ is greater than the angels (1:4), and his glory is greater than that of Moses (3:2-6); Christ is compared to Melchizedek since the latter is greater than Abraham (7:4-10). It would appear, then, that the midrashic tradition that elevates the Messiah above Abraham, Moses, and the angels antecedes the Epistle to the Hebrews.24 The antiquity of this midrash is further attested in the words of Rabbi Yose in the Sifre Numbers,25 where Moses is described as more humble than the patri-

21. See V. Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark (London, 1957), 476-477. 22. H. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum NT aus Talmud und Midrasch (München, 1922), 1.875-876; W. Bacher, Die Agada der Palästinenischen Amoräer (Strasbourg, 1892), 1.73. 23. Buber edition 134-138. See also Yalkut ha-Makhiri to Psalms, Buber edition, 2.233; Makhiri to Zechariah, p. 42. 24. See also Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan A, chapter 2 (Schechter edition p. 10), where Psalm 8:5 is cited just as in Hebrews 2:5-9. See also the Targum to Isaiah 63:16, “for Abra- ham did not lead us out of Egypt.” 25. §§ 101 and 103 (Horowitz edition 100-101), and also Sifre Zuta, 175 and 276, though the version there is secondary. The end of Sifre Numbers §101 (p. 100, line 6) is apparently a scribal addition. And compare b. Sanhedrin 92b-93a.

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archs, based on the biblical statement “Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). Indeed, Moses was more faithful than the ministering angels, as Scripture notes, “he is entrusted with all my house” (Num. 12:7).26 In his interpretation, Rabbi Yose takes “all my house” to include God’s own place of residing. There is a clear connection between the midrashic argument for the superiority of the messiah and the midrashic argument for the superiority of Moses, and it seems the latter is the earlier of the two. In any case, the author of the Genizah psalms states: “You made him greater than all the angels,” echoing a midrash attested in rabbinic literature and known to the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Did anyone refer to the historical David as greater than Abraham or Moses or the ministering angels, or had our text elevated him to the angelic status because he was understood as a messianic figure? Before turning to this question, however, let us examine the biblical text known to the author of the Genizah Psalms. For while we have shown that a similarly structured composition appears in the Psalms Scroll of Qumran, and while nothing in our text argues decisively against its antiquity, it is nonetheless the case that every Second Temple text is, upon its discovery, generally categorized as medieval. Scholars who did not recognize the importance of diachronic analysis of the Hebrew language sought to locate the Da- mascus Document, Hebrew Ben Sira, and the Qumran Scrolls themselves in this later period. This tendency may be exacerbated by the fact that our text was only found in the Genizah, even if it is the same Genizah that yielded the Damascus Document, Aramaic Testament of Levi, and Hebrew Ben Sira. But those who wish to do so will face a formidable challenge if it can be shown that the biblical text that was used by the author differed from the Masoretic text in a number of details. We have already noted that 2.19 states “The idols will utterly pass away (wpwljy),” citing Isaiah 2:18 in accordance with the Qumran Isaiah Scroll and the Septuagint, but unlike the Masoretic Text, which reads “it will pass away (iwljy).” In 2.6 we read: “Mercifully bind the crushed bones, heal lovingly the wounds of your lot.”This line is based in part on Psalm 51:10, “let the bones you have crushed rejoice,” except that our author reads “crushed bones” (owcd owmxe) with the Septuagint, against the MT’s “bones you have crushed” (oycd owmxe). Another source is Psalm

26. It is striking that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (3:1-6) uses these same words to justify the superiority of Christ (the anointed one). Moses is called “my servant” in this passage and the same language appears in Isaiah 52:13, which is interpreted by the sages as an indication of the superiority of the messiah (the anointed one). This same characterization appears in the Genizah Psalms (2.9, 4.6), and see also 1 Samuel 22:14: “Who among all your servant is so faithful as David?”

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147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (fowbxel)” whereas our author apparently read “their bones” (fowmxel). This is confirmed by 4.1, which similarly alludes to these verses from Psalms: “For he heals the brokenhearted, bandages the bones of the downtrodden.” And how are we to interpret the conceptual parallels between the Genizah Psalms and the Essene worldview of the Dead Sea Scrolls? Already in the first psalm (1.3-4) we read: “You desire justice and despise injustice; the boastful will not stand before your glory. You divided the world into darkness and light; into pure and impure,27 justice and lie.” Who can read this statement without recalling the moral dualism of the Essenes and the Scrolls’ distinction between light and darkness? 1 Enoch similarly states that God “created the distinction between light and darkness and separated the spirits of the people, and strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of his righteousness” (41.8). And if we read in the Genizah Psalm “You desire justice and despise injustice,” we recall not only Isaiah 7:16 (“despise the evil and choose the good”) but also parallel formulations in the Qumran Scrolls, e.g., “so that you can choose what he is pleased with and repudiate what he hates” (CD 2.15).28 Note also the subsequent image, according to which “You cast off from your nation all aliens; purifying your flock of impure beasts” (1.5). The nation or the community is referred to as a flock, while the foreigners are impure beasts. A similar image is proposed in the second psalm (2.5): “May your mercy, O Lord our God, be upon your flock doomed to slaughter; the shepherds have killed it without mercy.”The phrase “flock doomed to slaughter” is found in Zechariah 11:4 and 11:7, and the prophet goes on to speak of the shepherds, but a closer parallel is found in 1 Enoch’s vision of the seventy shepherds (89.19, 90.25), which likens the nations to shepherds who have received the flock, Israel, and are instructed to herd it and kill of it a fixed amount. But the shepherds do not abide by the killing quotas and kill more than is permitted, and as a result the owner of the flock — God — will eventually destroy these shepherds, who represent the angels assigned to govern the seventy gentile nations. This is the context of the statement concerning the “flock doomed to slaughter; the shepherds have killed it without mercy.” We also find in the Genizah Psalms one of the distinguishing phrases from Qumran. “All the elect of justice rejoice before you” (1.21) employs the same

27. An allusion to Leviticus 11:47, where the language is cultic: “to make a distinction between the impure and the pure, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.” Our author continues with the metaphoric understanding in the next verse: “purifying your flock of impure beasts.” 28. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” in Scripta Hierosolymitana 4 (1958), n. 16.

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appellation for God’s chosen ones as the Qumran Scrolls (Hodayot 10.13; CD 2.3; 4Q184 1.14), 1 Enoch (following the Greek “the elect ones of justice”), and Targum to Isaiah 12:3, where it appears in an eschatological sense. Interest- ingly, in its Aramaic form (akdx yryjb) the phrase appears in Mandaic literature in reference to those who belong to the dominion of the good, and may refer to the Mandeans themselves.29 Another fascinating linguistic parallel between the Genizah Psalms and the Scrolls is “the wishes of his will” which appears three times in our text (1.6; 3.1, 4), and once in the Damascus Docu- ment (3.15), where God is said to have revealed “his just stipulations and his truthful paths, and the wishes of his will which man must do in order to live by them.” In the Epistle to the Ephesians, which is deeply influenced by Essene thought, we find that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption, as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the desire of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us” (Eph. 1:4-5). In each of these sources, the “desire of his will” refers to the grace that God bestows upon his elect,30 for it is God who is “knowing in the ways of all living things” (1.2).31 Let us now return to the image of David in these two Genizah folios. Al- ready in antiquity there was a tendency to idealize David, and his stature and power increased greatly. This is already evident in Psalm 89, which exerted a great deal of influence on the description of David in our text. In verse 28 of this psalm, for example, God says “I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth,” just as the Genizah Psalms describe David as ruler over all kings, having vanquished all his enemies since God supports “his right hand, bearing the sword; giving strength to his arm” (1.25). God further bestows upon David “all that kings desire; the might of nations and treasures of kings” (3.15). But David is not just a great warrior who rules over the kings of the earth; he is the king of peace (“You multiplied justice and righteousness in his day; peace and blessings forever beyond counting” [1.20]), as well

29. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” n. 25. See also M. Odeberg, Die mandäische Religionsanschauung (Uppsala, 1930), 17. On the concept of election reflected in this terminology, see the discerning comments of E. Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums (Stuttgart, 1921), 2.404, who formulated his views prior to the discovery of the Scrolls. 30. See also D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” n. 36. 31. This Hebrew phrase, yj lc ycrdb eydy, contains another interesting linguistic trait that is unattested in Biblical Hebrew but is quite common in the Qumran Scrolls, namely the letter bet appearing as a preposition following edwy, to know. This construct is attested in Hodayot 6.17; 7.12; 8.6; 15.27; 17.9; 18.5.

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as an exemplary man of wisdom (“You bestow upon your servant your mighty wisdom; he understands all according to your desire” [1.6]). Needless to say, our poet identifies wisdom with the Torah and the commandments: David is concerned with “the teachings of your mouth,” “your sacred words,” and “the commandments of your will” more than any material wealth (2.25, 26, and 27). David’s desire is to “be in your presence forever” to “pursue your trutheverydayasisrightinyoureyes...knowingthepaths of your righteousness” (3.2-5). God “made weighty his teaching upon his servant; his commands by the agency of his trusted messenger. He magnified wisdom and understanding in his heart; great sanctity without measure” (4.6-7). He even states that “his knowledge and wisdom are in my heart” (4.19). But note that the source of David’s wisdom is heavenly, bestowed by divine grace: “I take joy in nothing save your teachings and the appearance of your glory” (2.22). David “trusts in his name and in the glory of the vision and in his holy words, in all the paths of life” (3.26). We have already noted that both according to the Genizah Psalms and the list in the Qumran Psalms Scroll it is divine inspiration that evokes David’s poetry. The appearance of the glory is not a vision but rather his own visionary power inspired by the holy spirit: “On the fourth day of Iyar I beheld a vision and all his prophecies, and I prayed before the Lord, saying” (4.16), and here lies the genesis of these poems. In this way, the role of inspired psalmist constitutes a sublime unity of the two traditional roles of David — the poet and the prophet. And once again we note that he is a prophet of the eschaton: “Your spirit prophesies through your servant for you draw the end near, it will tarry no more” (1.14). Moreover, he is a prophet to the gentiles: “you have placed me before you for the sake of the world; you have placed me in your might as a light to the nations” (2.8). As a poet too, David addresses all mankind: “he spread your praise to the ends of the earth” (1.16), so that “All who worship your name are learned of song; all those who believe the words of your servant” (1.8). Are David’s universal roles as king, prophet, and poet limited to his own historical period, or do they carry over to the end of days? We have already touched on a similar matter when we discussed the Genizah Psalms’ statement that “You made him greater than all the angels” (1.23). Is this a midrashic statement about the former king of Israel, or perhaps a vision concerning David, the messianic savior of Israel, since there was, as noted, a Jew- ish belief that the messiah will be greater than the ministering angels. It appears the latter is the case, for after discussing David’s glory as the king who reigns over all the earth, the Genizah psalmist abruptly states: “His blessed ones speak for all eternity; all the mighty of the earth will bow before him. They will put their trust in the Lord for he has done mighty deeds; no longer

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going astray after vanity and error. For all will know the Lord, from the mightiest man to the most humble” (3.17-19). It is David, then, who will cause all of humanity to accept the kingdom of God, leaving behind their idola- trous ways — “no longer going astray after vanity and error.”At 2.8-19 we find a more explicit statement of the same idea, as God places David “as a light to the nations,” and all the rulers of the earth gather to “see the might of your right hand and understand the mystery of your holy teachings,”finally recognizing that all is made through God’s will. All the inhabitants of the earth will learn from David, “repenting their ways to worship you in faith,” greeting God “with hymns and songs and giving thanks” — perhaps learned from Da- vid himself — knowing that “you, O Lord, created them.” At that time, “all who worship idols shall be shamed for they will come to recognize their statues” and idolatry will be banished forever. Clearly, then, the Genizah Psalms cast David as a king, a prophet, and a messiah in the end of days too, at which time he will cause all of humanity to repent, returning them to the God of Is- rael and banishing idolatry from the world. It would be artificial to separate the historic David from the eschatological one, since the Genizah Psalms merge the two into a single figure. Was there a Jewish tradition that identified David as the messiah? The Bible emphasizes that God’s covenant with David is eternal: “Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him, and my covenant with him will stand firm. I will establish his line for ever, and his throne as long as the heavens endure” (Ps. 89:30-31, and see also Isaiah 55:3). Thus it is possible that the name David could refer to the messiah. Thus Jeremiah prophesies that on the day that God frees Israel from the yoke of the nations “they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them” (Jer. 30:8-9). Similarly we find in Ezekiel: “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant Da- vid....I,theLord,willbetheir God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken” (Ezek. 34:23-24 and see also 37:24). Da- vid’s key role in the eschatological hope of Israel explains his mention in the Second Temple prayers concerning the yearning for redemption.32 One prominent example is the conclusion to the {Amidah in its Palestinian version: “Blessed is the God of David, builder of Jerusalem.”33 Similarly we find in the Gospels that when Jesus entered Jerusalem the crowds praised him by

32. Incidentally, the classical liturgy does not contain the word jyqm in the sense of a future redeemer. The word appears in the present version of the awbyw hley (“let him arise and come”) blessing, but is unattested in earlier versions. 33. See also t. Berakhot 3.25; Elbogen, Jewish Liturgy, 47; D. Flusser, “Jerusalem in Second Temple Literature,” 269; G. Alon, “Halakhah in Acts,” Studies in Jewish History (Tel Aviv, 1957), 286, 290.

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saying: “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our ancestor David!” (Mark 11:9-10). It is, then, the kingdom of our ancestor David that comes in the name of the Lord. In Mat- thew the crowds say: “Hosanna to the son of David!” (21:9). Interestingly, the grace recorded in the Didache states: “Hosanna to the God of David” (Didache 10.6), just like the conclusion of the ancient blessing of Jerusalem. According to Didache 9.2, the blessing of the wine opened with the words: “We thank you, our Father, for the sacred vine of David.” All these indicate that the early followers of Jesus also mentioned David and the “God of Da- vid” in their prayers, as a way of expressing their hope for redemption. The traditional sources clearly indicate, then, that not only was the name ‘David’ associated with the Messiah, there were those who thought that King David himself was the Messiah.34 The following, e.g., is cited in the name of Rav: “The Holy One Blessed Be He will in the future time establish for Israel another David, as it is written, ‘But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will establish for them’ (Jer. 30:9) — the verse does not say ‘did establish’ but rather ‘will establish’.” In this statement the David in question is not the biblical king, but in the Palestinian Talmud we find: “The sages say, This is the Messiah King — if from among the living, his name is David, if from among the dead his name is David. Rabbi Tanhum says: ‘I have provided the biblical prooftext: “[He] shows steadfast love to his anointed,toDavid...”’(Psalm 18:50; 2 Sam. 22:51)” (p. Berakhot 2.5a, and see also Eikha Rabbati to Lamentations 1:16). Similarly the Kaliri writes in Feqy vmwa,apiyyut for hosha{na rabbah:35 “The shoot [jmx] of a man, ‘shoot’ [jmx] is his name, he is none other than David.” The biblical verses that appear to identify David as the Messiah undoubtedly play an important role in the shaping of this tradition. The identification of David as the Messiah is quite early, and is already evident in the Second Temple disputes between the first Christians, who claimed that Jesus is the Messiah, risen from the dead, and those who argued that David is the Messiah. The Christian polemic against David’s messianic standing is preserved in two versions. The first, Peter’s long oration in Acts 2:24-36, and Paul’s shorter statement in Acts 13:32-37. Evidently, Luke had before him a fully articulated Christian argument on this matter when he com-

34. On David as the Messiah see L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (Philadelphia, 1946), 4.272, n. 128; M. Zobel, Gottes Gesalbter (Berlin, 1938), 90-91; P. Volz, Die Eschatologie der jüdischen Gemeinde (Tübingen, 1934), 206-207; H. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum NT aus Talmud und Midrash (München, 1924), 2.618. 35. See Siddur Rinat Israel (Jerusalem, 1977), 429; The Vitry Prayer Book, 456; and see also Zobel, Gottes Gesalbter, 91 n. 2.

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posed Acts. The debate was couched in terms of the interpretation of Psalm 16:8-10: “I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the pit.”The Psalm is identified as a mikhtam to David, but does this mean that David is speaking in the first person, or perhaps these verses are a future prophecy concerning Jesus? Though the word ‘pit’ in verse 10 is a synonym of Sheol (as the parallelism clearly demonstrates), the Septuagint and other translations render it “corruption.” In Psalm 16, this interpretation might be supported by the broader context, i.e., the statement “my body also rests secure” — here understood as not decomposing. This view underlies the dictum of Rabbi Yitzhak: “‘my body also rests secure’ — this teaches that decomposi- tion and larvae have no dominion over his [David’s] body; ‘you do not give me up to Sheol’ — his flesh will not decompose into dust in the grave; ‘or let your faithful one see the pit’ — he does not even smell the scent of hell.”36 The interpretation offered by Rabbi Yitzhak suggests that David’s flesh did not decompose, as his flesh does not turn to dust in the grave nor indeed does he smell the scent of hell. The early Christians opposed this view, arguing that Psalm 16 could be referring to David since he had died and remained in his grave to this very day. David, moreover, was a prophet and thus it was the resurrection of Jesus that he foretold, as Jesus had not been given up to Sheol, nor his flesh allowed to decompose, for he ascended to heaven. Clearly then the words of Psalm 16 were applied to both Jesus and David. Similarly, we find that Acts (13:33-35) applies Psalm 2:7 — “You are my son; today I have begotten you” — to the risen Christ. These same words are used by the sages to refer to the Jewish messiah, and the psalm could quite naturally be interpreted as referring to David, since he was viewed as the author of Psalms and, at least in some circles, as the messiah himself. Acts 13:34 also cites Isaiah 55:3: “I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for Da- vid.”This verse too is applied to Jesus, even though it explicitly mentions King David. It appears, then, that there was a series of verses that Acts interpreted as referring to Jesus, while other sources used them as proof of David’s messianic status. The belief in David’s messianism is seen as a core part of Jewish messianism.

36. Midrash Tehilim ad loc, Buber edition p. 123. See also Bacher, Die Agada der Palästinenischen Amoräer, 248. A baraita in b. Bava Batra 17a and Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 1 (Higger edition 74 and 129) list seven patriarchs who were not affected by larvae and maggots, and there are those that add David to the list, as it is written “my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” This addendum contains the opinion attributed to Rabbi Yitzhak. See also Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar zum NT aus Talmud und Midrasch, 2.618.

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Can we provide a clearer picture of the belief or group of beliefs that cast David as the future messiah? The Christian polemic against this view, as reflected in Acts, suggests that there were those who believed that David did not decompose in his grave. Presumably these individuals assumed that during the future resurrection David would physically rise from his grave and fulfill his messianic role. Other views of David’s messianic role, if they existed, no longer exist today. If our interpretation of the apocryphal Genizah Psalms is correct, David, who is both prophet and messiah, will return all the nations to the Lord, forever banishing idolatry from the world. Thus we find that the Psalms of David constitute a real contribution to the ancient polemic between Judaism and Christianity regarding the identity of the messiah (or messiahs), as well as his life and role. It was this polemic that gave rise to Christianity itself. We know that the Qumran scrolls, the Book of Jubilees and the Testaments of the Tribes — all of which are close to the Essene worldview — reflect the belief in three messiahs: an eschatological messiah, along with the messiahs of Aaron and Israel. The latter, who comes from the House of David, is less important than the Messiah of the House of Aaron. Why the diminished role of the House of David relative to the House of Aaron? Is it simply a function of the priestly orientation of this religious group? Or is the emphasis on Aaron part of a polemic against those who elevate the messianic role of the Davidic messiah — and perhaps of David himself? Whatever the answer, it was in Qumran that the Psalms Scroll was preserved, including those apocryphal psalms attributed to David himself. We have already noted that one of these psalms (24.6) contains the phrase “true judge” which also appears in the Genizah Psalms (4.12), and that the author of the Genizah Psalms beseeches God, saying “Do not deny me this request; fulfill my request as though it were the wish of your will” (3.4). In the Qumran Psalm Scroll we find a very similar phrase, one that is wholly unattested in the Bible: “Bend your ear and grant my plea, and what I ask, do not deny me” (24.4-5). The striking similarity strengthens our hypothesis that the Genizah Psalms were originally part of the Qumran library. By way of conclusion, we note the similarity between the “Genizah psalms” and two apocryphal books — 1 Enoch and Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities. In chapter 51, Enoch describes the future resurrection of “the righteous and the holy ones,”adding: “In those days, the Elect One shall sit on my throne, and from the conscience of his mouth shall come out all the secrets of wisdom, for the Lord of the Spirits has given them to him and glorified him” (1 Enoch 51:3). Later on in the book we find: “These kings, gover- nors, and all the landlords shall try to bless, glorify, extol him who rules over everything” (1 Enoch 62:6). Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities — of which

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only a Latin translation is extant — tells the history of Israel from Adam to the days of King David.37 As part of this survey, the text includes two psalms that it attributes to King David (59:4 and all of chapter 60).38 In the Genizah Psalms, David says of his election: “A cornerstone despised by the builders you have raised to the headstone above all nations” (1.18), while in Biblical Antiquities he says: “God hath kept me, and hath delivered me unto his angels and his watchers to keep me, for my brethren envied me, and my father and my mother made me of no account, and when the prophet came they called not for me, and when the Lord’s anointed was proclaimed they forgot me” (Biblical Antiquities 59:4). The author states that God’s angels guard over Da- vid, while in the Genizah Psalms we read: “You made him greater than all the angels, establishing him as king of all nations forever” (1.23). Another striking parallel involves the image of a light to the nations. In the Genizah Psalms we find: “you have placed me in your might as a light to the nations” (2.8), and the same phrase appears in Biblical Antiquities (according to the main manuscript) in the apocryphal hymn of Hannah (51:6), where it is applied to David and to the prophet Samuel, Hannah’s son. The same chapter contains a uni- versalistic description of Samuel, very much in the vein of the Genizah Psalms: “Come ye at my voice, all ye peoples, and give ear unto my speech, all ye kingdoms....Iuttermywordsopenly,foroutofmeshall arise the ordinance of the Lord, and all men shall find the truth” (51.3-4; and compare Genizah Psalms 2.19, 3.17-19). We may conclude, then, that even though the Genizah Psalms demonstrate a marked affinity to the world of the Essenes, the portrait they sketch of the prophet David, along with their universal tone, accords with the environment that produced Biblical Antiquities.

37. See The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, translated by M. R. James, Prolegomenon by Louis H. Feldman (New York, 1971). 38. See the discussion in Pseudo-Philon, Les Antiquités bibliques, ed. J. Harrington (Paris, 1976), 2.230.

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18. The “Flesh-Spirit” Dualism in the Qumran Scrolls and the New Testament

Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars wishing to locate the origin of the Flesh-Spirit dualism in the New Testament could be divided into three broad positions: i. The Bible and its anthropology; ii. Greek dualism, beginning with Plato, that distinguishes the material and the spiritual, with the body relegated to the former; iii Gnosticism, which also contrasts the material body to the spirit. The question, then, is whether the views enunciated in the early church, particularly in the Pauline epistles and in the Gospel of John, are independent or perhaps an outgrowth of one of these three views. The language of the New Testament is influenced by the biblical “flesh” and “spirit,” but it is still possible that the Christian dualism is a “pseudomorphosis”of biblical anthropology. Recently, P. Benoît has rejected the attempts to find Greek influence on the New Testament, arguing rather that it contains the “anthro- pological monism that is unique to the Semitic and biblical worldview.”1 The discovery of the Scrolls provided new impetus for the complex analysis of the flesh-spirit dichotomy, even inciting a scholarly debate.2 To my mind, the proper solution lies in examining the theological meaning of the views concerning flesh and spirit in the Scrolls and in the New Testament,

1. P. Benoît, “Corps, tête et plérôme dans les Épitres de la captivité,” RB 63 (1956), 8, and see also the literature cited there. On the Testament of the Patriarchs, which displays an affinity to the Qumran corpus, see R. Eppel, Le piétisme juif dans les testaments de douze patriarches (Paris, 1930), 111-113. 2. See G. Kuhn, “Temptation, Sin, and Flesh,” and W. D. Davies, “Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Flesh and Spirit,” both in K. Stendhal (ed.), The Scrolls and the New Testament (New York, 1957), 101-108 and 157-182, respectively.

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comparing the two, and only then proceeding to discuss other conceptual systems. I believe this approach leads to the conclusion that the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament speak with one voice with regard to the flesh-spirit dichotomy, a voice that is different from the biblical, Greek, and Gnostic dualisms of spirit and matter. One evident difference between the worldview of the Scrolls and the New Testament, on the one hand, and certain Greek and Gnostic positions, on the other, is that the former do not contain any principled opposition to matter as such. The Qumran Scrolls even contain some positive statements concerning the material world: “He created man to rule the world” (1QS 3.17- 18, and see Hodayot 9.15). The “wondrous mysteries” governing the creation of the world in all its fullness and eternal laws, are proof of God’s glory and sole government over all (Hodayot 9.7-20), and the “just judgments” of God highlight the nullity of man (Hodayot 9.21-27).3 Though not as positive as the Qumran Scrolls published thus far, the New Testament’s ambivalent estima- tion of the physical world (kosmos) does not stem from the negation of the world as such, but rather from the negation of the world inasmuch as it is ruled by Satan.4 The Scrolls, too, hold that the present age is “the days of Belial’s dominion” (1QS 2.19; 1.23; and see CD 4.12-13; 6.14; 12.23; 1QpHab 5.7), and thus the conclusion that the world “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice until the time appointed for the judgment decided” (1QS 4.19-20).5 It is possible, then, that the negative attitude toward the physical world voiced in the New Testament is a more severe version of the views of the Qumran community. Clearly, neither the Scrolls nor the New Testament can promote an absolute negation of the world, since both believe in a good and beneficent creator God. It is possible, then, that it was the Jewish heritage of these texts that limited the broader “spirit-matter” dualism to “spirit-flesh.” This hypothesis is apparently confirmed by the fact that the Hebrew word for flesh, rqb, does not appear in the Qumran Scrolls in the New Testament sense except in the Hodayot and the psalm that concludes the Manual of Discipline.6 Davies noticed this as well and suggested that most of the Scrolls belong to an earlier stage in the history of the Qumran community, before Hellenistic influences altered its worldview, while the Hodayot belong to a later, more Hellenized stage.7 Itoo

3. See Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” 21-22 above. 4. See R. Bultmann, Theologie des Neuen Testaments (Tübingen, 1954), 172-173. 5. See Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” 20-21 above. 6. See also CD 3.17, where the enemies of the community are said to have “defiled themselves with human sin and unclean paths.” 7. See Davies, “Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 165.

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have argued that the Hodayot and the concluding psalm of the Manual of Dis- cipline are relatively light, based on their unique anthropology along with other considerations.8 I believe, however, that the differences between these texts are the result of an internal evolution, rather than the spirit-matter dualism of Greek and Gnostic thought. The religious worldview of Qumran divides humanity into two camps: the sons of light and the sons of darkness. The sons of light, who are ultimately the members of the Qumran community, are marked by the spirit of truth, while the sons of darkness inhabit the spirit of wickedness. God “established every deed, and on their paths every labor” (1QS 3.25-26). Just like the Gospel of John (14:26), the Qumran writings identify the spirit of truth with the holy spirit (1QS 4.21; 3.6-7). This spirit, then, which the Scrolls (like the New Testa- ment) refer to on occasion as ‘spirit’ as such, is the gift that God bestows upon his elect: “For it is by the spirit of the true counsel of God that are atoned the paths of man, all his iniquities, so that he can look at the light of life. And it is by the holy spirit of the community, in its truth, that he is cleansed of all his iniquities” (1QS 3.6-8). Indeed, for the Dead Sea community, “you have stretched out your holy spirit to cover up guilt” (Hodayot 23.13). I believe that this view — the ethical dualism of Qumran alongside the doctrine of divine grace and election — is the root from which grows the Hodayot dualism between spirit and flesh. The spirit purifies man from his debased — which is his natural — state. Man is “a creature of clay, fashioned with water, a foundation of shame...abuilding of sin, a spirit of error and depravity without knowledge” (Hodayot 9.21-23). He is a base creature, governed by his sinful desires, “impure abominations and guilt of unfaithfulness” (Hodayot 19.11). The Qumran Scrolls refer to the sinful nature of man with the biblical rqb, ‘flesh,’arguing that “I belong to evil humankind, to the assembly of unfaithful flesh” (1QS 11.9). First Corinthians, “are you not of the flesh and behaving according to human inclinations?” (3:3), indicates that Paul too sees the flesh and human nature as one and the same. The phrase “sin of the flesh” in the Community Rule (1QS 11.12) is reminiscent of Romans 8:3, while the Christian phrases “›pijum¾ai sarkika¿ (swmatika¿)” and “¨ ›pijum¾a t«v sarkËv”9 parallel in language and content “the inclination of the flesh” (yetzer basar) of Hodayot 18.25. This particular sense of “flesh” refers to the unredeemed within man, “the assembly of flesh,”from whom God has hidden wisdom and knowledge; but “to those whom God has selected he has given them as everlasting posses-

8. See Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” 18-24 above. 9. See Bultmann, Theologie, 103.

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sion” (1QS 11.7). In Ephesians too we read: “All of us once lived among [those who are disobedient] in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But . . . by grace you have been saved [see also Romans 7:5]...sothat in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace10 in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:3-7). The author of the Hodayot conceives of man’s election in a similar way: “For the sake of your glory, you have purified man from offence, so that he can make himself holy for you from every impure abomination and guilt of unfaithfulness” (Hodayot 19.10-11). We saw above that for the Qumran community, the spirit purifies man of his iniquities, elevating him from the realm of the flesh. A similar position is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Thos who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit, since the spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:8-9). The theological basis for the flesh-spirit dualism is not, then, the deeper dichotomy of matter and spirit, but rather the view that God elevates his elect from a debased state — from the reality of “flesh” — by endowing him with spirit, i.e., with the spirit of truth (following the dualistic terminology of the Scrolls) or, in the biblical phraseology regular in the Scrolls, the holy spirit. It would be a worthwhile endeavor to examine — to the extent that such an examination is possible — whether all the New Testament passages that contrast the flesh and the spirit accord with this view. The author of the Hodayot summarizes his religious outlook regarding the flesh and the spirit in a beautiful and concise passage:

What is flesh compared to this? What creature of clay can do wonders? He is in iniquity from his maternal womb, and in guild of unfaithfulness right to old age. But I know that justice does not belong to man nor to a son of Adam a perfect path. To God Most High belong all the acts of justice, and the path of man is not secure except by the spirit which God creates for him to perfect the path of the sons of Adam so that all his creatures come to know the strength of his power and the abundance of his compassion with all the sons of his approval. (Hodayot 12.29-33)

This view is certainly similar (though not identical) to the Hellenistic and Gnostic conceptions, in which man is represented as constituted of two

10. The evidence of the Scrolls suggests that the Greek ploØtov q}ritov is a mistransla- tion of vwmh wymjr. This phrase is common in the Hodayot, where it designates God’s grace toward his elect. See “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview,” 22 n. 36 above.

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warring elements — the spirit and the flesh — with the latter a prison of sorts for the former, denying its most sublime aspirations. The difference lies in the fact that in the Hodayot and the New Testament, the dualism is the result of the presence or absence of God’s spirit within the otherwise carnal man. I believe that the notion that it is the holy spirit that turns the carnal man into one of the elect is theologically autocratic; there is no need to resort to Helle- nistic (and Gnostic) matter-spirit dualism to explain it. That said, there is no question that the practical conclusions the Hodayot yield are close to a matter-spirit dualism, and so it is possible that there is contamination between the two approaches. Proof of this is provided by a passage in the Wisdom of Solomon:

For who can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern what the Lord wills? For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and our designs are likely to fail; for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind. We can hardly guess at what is on earth, and what is at hand we find with labor; but who has traced out what is in the heavens? Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus the paths of those on earth were set right, and people were taught what pleases you, and were saved by wisdom. (9.13-18)11

The view of this passage is theologically identical with that of the Hodayot, which state, e.g.:

What, then, is man? He is nothing but earth. [From clay] he is fashioned and to dust he will return. But you teach him about wonders like these and the foundations of your truth you show to him. I am dust and ashes, what can I plan if you do not wish it? What can I devise without your will? How can I be strong if you do not make me stand? How can I be learned if you do not mould me? (Hodayot 18.3-7; see also 20.11-13 and 7.21-22).

The Wisdom of Solomon passage is particularly close to Hodayot 12.29-30, which we cited above (see also 20.32-34). If the author of Wisdom of Solomon

11. Prof. Isaac Seligman called my attention to other parallels between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Wisdom of Solomon, and see J. Fichtner, Weisheit Salomos (Tübingen, 1938), 36- 39; K. Holmes in R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Ox- ford, 1913), 1.532, 550. Needless to say, I am not suggesting that the Wisdom of Solomon — undoubtedly a Jewish Hellenistic composition — was written by one of the Qumranites. The relationship between Wisdom of Solomon and the Dead Sea Scrolls requires further investigation.

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states that the giving of the holy spirit sets straight the paths of man (ka¿ oÜtwv diwrjãjhsan a½ tr¾boi tån ›p¿ g«v), this may even be a Greek translation of Hebrew phrases like the one found in Hodayot 12.31-32: “the path of man is not secure except by the spirit which God creates for him to perfect the path of the sons of Adam.”12 The author of Wisdom of Solomon added two elements to the conceptual system already familiar from the Scrolls: first, he identified the holy spirit with wisdom,13 which is the main subject of his composition; second, he su- perimposed the Greek “spirit-matter” dualism onto the “spirit-flesh” division. Indeed, scholars have already noted that the verse “for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind” (Wisdom of Solomon 9.15) is quite similar to Plato’s famous statement in the Phaedo: “the corporeal is heavy, oppressive, earthly, and visible. So the soul which is tainted by its presence is weighed down and dragged back into the visible world” (81c).14 The fusion of Greek philosophy and Jewish writings is made possible by the biblical view — quoted approvingly in the Dead Sea Scrolls — that “What, then, is man? He is nothing but earth. From clay he is fashioned and to dust he will return” (Hodayot 18.3-4). The Wisdom of Solomon passage adopts an interesting epistemological stance, according to which man can understand God’s counsel only if God sends his holy spirit to man. This is also the Qumran view as expressed in the Hodayot: not only does the holy spirit purify the elect of the charge of deception, but it is also the only instrument through which the elect can receive true knowledge, i.e., knowledge of the mysteries of God’s dominion in the world, and knowledge of God himself: “AndI...haveknownyou,myGod, through the spirit which you gave in me” (1QH 20.11-13). Knowledge of God originates in God, as we also see in the common formula “These things I know through your knowledge” (1QH 6.12; 7.12; 9.21; 1QM 10.16). For instance, “These things I know through your knowledge, for you opened my ears to wondrous mysteries although I am a creature of clay, fashioned with water” (1QH 9.21). Carnal man is unable to understand the divine secrets without receiving the holy spirit, for “What is someone born of a woman among all your awesome works? He is a structure of dust fashioned with water, his counsel is the iniquity of sin, shame of dishonor and source of impu-

12. See also “For to man (does not belong) his path, nor can a human being steady his step; since the judgment belongs to God, and from his hand is the perfection of the path” (1QS 11.10-11). 13. At Wisdom of Solomon 7.22, wisdom is again identified with spirit, though there it is likened to the pneØma of the Stoics. 14. Hugh Treddenick translation.

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rity and a depraved spirit rules over him” (1QH 5.20-22, and see also 7.21-22; 18.3-7). After all, “what is the spirit of flesh to understand all these matters and to have insight into your wondrous and great counsel?” (1QH 5.19-20). All other mortals have the “spirit of flesh,” but the elect can gain true knowledge through the divine spirit that he has been granted: “And I, your servant, have known thanks to the spirit you have placed in me” (1QH 5.24-25). Despite the difference in details, Paul’s doctrine in 1 Corinthians (2:6- 3:1) may serve as a systematic explanation of the hints scattered throughout the Hodayot suggesting that the flesh does not know God, only the spirit that God has granted his elect. Like the wisdom of the Qumranites, the Christian wisdom is “secret and hidden...whichGoddecreedbeforetheages for our glory” and which “God has prepared for those who love him”:

[These things] God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within?15 So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. (1 Cor. 2:6-12)

The statement “we have received not the spirit of the world” is strongly reminiscent of Hodayot 4.25, “for your servant is [not] a spirit of flesh.” As noted, Christianity’s hostile tone toward “the world” distinguishes it from the Qumran literature, and it is therefore possible that the phrase “spirit of the world” means the same thing to an early Christian as “spirit of flesh” to a Qumran member. Moreover, the phrase “people of the flesh,” which occurs further on in 1 Corinthians (2:14) — those who are unable to grasp the words of God’s spirit (in contrast to the people of the spirit) — is identical in meaning to the person of the flesh (3:1).16 It seems reasonable, then, that the “spirit” of “the people of the spirit” is nothing other than Paul’s “spirit of the world” and the “spirit of the flesh” of Hodayot (4.25). But if the gift of spirit elevates the Qumran elect from the realm of the

15. Paul’s qal va-homer, the rabbinic argument from the minor to the major, is similar to what was cited above from the Wisdom of Solomon: “We can hardly guess at what is on earth, and what is at hand we find with labor; but who has traced out what is in the heavens? Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” (9.16-17). 16. See the commentary of A. Robertson and A. Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Com- mentary to the Corinthians (ICC; Edinburgh, 1929), 49.

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flesh, even to the point that he can state that “your servant is [not] a spirit of flesh” (1QH 4.25), how can he still sin in “the sin of the flesh” (1QS 11.12)? How can the author of the Manual of Discipline state that “I belong to evil humankind, to the assembly of unfaithful flesh; my failings, my iniquities, my sins . . . with the depravities of my heart” (1QS 11.9)? This paradox is resolved if we understand that, while he has been elevated out of the realm of the flesh, he still remains a creature of flesh. A similar dialectic is evident in Paul’s theology. For Paul speaks of the time “while we were living in the flesh” (Rom. 7:5) as belonging to the past, while at the same time exhorting his hearers: “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want” (Gal. 5:16-17). Indeed, the Qumran community and the early church maintain a dialectic position not only with regard to the flesh, but with regard to the spirit as well. Even though he received the spirit when he entered the Qumran community (1QH 6.13), the elect may still “look for the spirit” (1QH 8.14). In much the same way, one receives the spirit when he becomes a Christian but nonetheless yearns for the gifts of the spirit (1 Cor. 14:1).17 After all, the spiritual standing of the elect is not fixed, but rather can fluctuate for better and for worse. Paul cannot speak with the Christians in Corinth as with people of the spirit, for they are still of the flesh: “For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” (1 Cor. 3:3). The struggle between carnal human nature and the God-given spirit is typical of the elect. This view — that the spirit purifies the elect of the sins of the flesh — introduces a new wrinkle into the typical Qumran dichotomy of the sons of light and the sons of darkness. For one might conclude that the sons of light are God’s elect who have been granted the spirit, while those destined for damnation reside in the realm of the sins of the flesh. This is Paul’s position in Romans: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (8:5) and “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (8:14; see also Galatians 4:6). John expresses the same idea in much starker terms: “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). And if the realm of the spirit suits the lot of light and the realm of the flesh the lot of darkness, it is clear why Ephe- sians — which refers to the Christian community as “sons of light” — speaks

17. See Bultmann, Theologie des Neues Testaments, 158.

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of “the fruit of light” and “the deeds of darkness” (5:8-11), while Galatians employs the terms “fruit of the spirit” and “deeds of the flesh” (5:19-23). Galatians also enumerates the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit, producing two contrary lists of wicked and righteous traits, respectively — lists that are very similar in content and literary form to the lists of the ways of the spirits of light and of darkness in 1QS 4.2-14.18 Interestingly, the Qumran scrolls published thus far do not contain the explicit identification of the realm of the good with the spirit and the realm of evil with the flesh. Is this identification a novel conclusion reached by the Christian community, or was there precedent in the Qumran community or affiliated groups? We have seen, then, that the Qumran Hodayot present a flesh-spirit contrast that is similar to the dualistic tendencies we find in the early church. The dualism of both the church and Qumran is rooted in the idea that God grants the holy spirit to his elect, and it allows them to overcome their innately sinful flesh, which is part of human nature as such. As noted, from a theological perspective the dualism in question is completely autocratic; there is no need to assume that it was formed under the influence of the matter-spirit dualism that is typical of certain Greek and Gnostic schools of thought. That said, there is an undeniable community in the conclusions drawn by both the Scrolls and the early church, on the one hand, and the Greek and Gnostic thinkers, on the other, with regard to human nature. As such, there could be instances of conflation, as we in fact saw in the Wisdom of Solomon passage cited above. Any attempt to blur the differences between flesh-spirit dualism and matter-spirit dualism poses a real risk to the Jewish and Christian belief in a good and beneficent God who is the creator of the material world. It is not surprising, then, that “The Assumption of Moses”19 — a Jewish book that espouses Qumran-like views regarding dualism and predestination20 — dramatically rejects the idea that the body is the realm of Satan. The leaders of the forces of good and evil, the archangel Michael21 and

18. Among the qualities listed: {g}ph = “of generous compassion with all the sons of truth”; qar} = “eternal enjoyment”; e¼r©nh = “plentiful peace”; makrojum¾a = “patience”; {gajwsÖnh = “eternal goodness”; p¾stiv = “potent wisdom which trusts in all the deeds of God” (?); praÖthv = “spirit of meekness”; ›gkr}teia = “magnificent purity which detests all unclean idols.” I could not identify qrhstËthv with any of the qualities enumerated in the Manual of Discipline. 19. See R. H. Charles, The Assumption of Moses (London, 1897), 105-110. 20. See in particular 12.4-5. 21. The Qumran writings represent Michael as the lord of light who leads the rule of the sons of light. See Yadin, The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness (Oxford, 1962), 235-236.

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Satan, respectively, fight over Moses’ body. Satan claim ownership on the grounds that he is the ruler of the material world, but Michael responds that all were created through God’s holy spirit, for God is lord of the spirits and of all flesh. “The Assumption of Moses” was most likely composed in the days of Paul and Simon Magus, one of the first Gnostics, and it is Gnostic — not Greek — dualism that the book so forcefully rejects. For it is only Gnosticism that portrays matter not only as the element that inhibits the spirit, but as the realm governed by satanic forces. Is this Gnostic approach, which opposes the view of the Qumran scrolls and of the New Testament, an outgrowth of Greek dualism? Or is it a combination of Qumran dualism — which holds that the flesh is the very human nature that the elect overcomes with the help of the spirit, and that the world “has been defiled in paths of wickedness during the dominion of injustice” (1QS 4.19) — with the Greek dualism of matter (including the physical body) and spirit?

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19. “The Secret Things Belong to the Lord” (Deut. 29:29): Ben Sira and the Essenes

A fascinating article that appeared recently in Tarbiz discusses the verse “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever; to observe all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29).1 The authors focus on the interpretation of the verse in rabbinic literature, and its importance in the history of the Qumran community, which is, in my view, an Essene sect. Among other sources they mention a well-known passage from Ben Sira 3:21-24: “Neither seek what is too difficult for you, nor investigate what is beyond your power. Reflect upon what you have been commanded, for the secret things are not your concern. Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you, for more than you can understand has been shown you. For their conceit has led many astray, and wrong opinion has im- paired their judgment.”2 Ben Sira’s words appear to be based on Psalm 19:12: “But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.” The Hebrew owaygq, ‘errors,’ can also be vocalized oway 5G2J, that is, ‘elevated matters,’ and apparently this is the reading that underlies Ben Sira’s exhortation not to “meddle in matters that are beyond you.” In other words, he interpreted Psalm 19 as asking, Who can understand sublime matters? Clear me of the desire to know hidden things. The words of Ben Sira played an important and well-established role in

1. A. Shemesh and K. Werman, “The Hidden Things and Their Revelations,” Tarbiz 66 (1997), 471-482. 2. For a discussion of the issues involved here see D. Flusser, “Who Can Detect Their Er- rors (Ps 19:12)?” (Hebrew), M. Bar Asher and D. Rosenthal (editors), Mehqere Talmud (Jerusa- lem, 1986), 2.402-409.

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the thought of the rabbis, who rightly interpreted them as a warning against esoteric speculation. They are also clear evidence that nistarot, ‘secret things,’ was an established term for esoterica already in Ben Sira’s time, causing the rational author to warn his readers against such mystical inclinations. The question remains, however, whether Psalm 19 is the only influence at work here, or perhaps Deuteronomy 29:29 also played a part. It seems to me the latter is the case, for how else can we explain his statement to “reflect upon what you have been commanded, for the secret things are not your concern” — for the secret things belong to the Lord, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever. We are not permitted to investigate the secret things (for they belong to the Lord our God) but only the revealed things (for they belong to us and to our children). This is the limit of our investigation, “for more than you can understand has been shown you” — even the revealed things are ultimately beyond our grasp. Shemesh and Werman make a novel, intriguing argument: the Qumran sect assumed that certain religious rules, previously hidden from Israel, had been revealed to them. In other words, the secret things that once belonged “to the Lord our God,”now “belong to us and to our children,”i.e. the sectarian legal rules. Is this the full story, or just a partial picture? Even if we accept the claim that the Qumran texts interpreted the Deuteronomy verse as referring solely to their sectarian doctrines, it is still the case that the revelation of commandments that had been hidden from Israel constitutes just one aspect of the Qumran community’s broader tend toward insularity and partial esotericism of its doctrines. It appears that Josephus’ statement concerning the Essenes does not refer to esoteric matters (that could not be revealed to individuals who were not full members of the community), but rather open issues that could not be hidden from others. For example, the halakhic principles that guided the Essene way of life, or core elements of their worldview — dualism and predestination. Still, Josephus himself allows that the Essenes maintained some matters hidden from the outside world, though his formulation is — perhaps intention- ally — vague.3 In the Manual of Discipline the member of the community is commanded to “hide the counsel of the law in the midst of the men of injustice (=the outside world)” (1QS 9.17). Licht, in his commentary, suggests that this is the only explicit instruction to keep the doctrines of the community secret, though the matter is alluded to in a number of other passages,4 e.g., “of

3. BJ 2.142. 4. Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim (Jerusalem, 1965), 196, which includes a list of possible parallels. On the esoteric nature of the Qumran doctrines see also Hodayot 13.25-26; 16.10-11.

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concealment concerning the truth of the mysteries of knowledge” (1QS 4.6). Moreover, it must be recalled that the description of the Essenes as a pacifist and humanitarian community cast in the mold of Tolstoy—adescription found in the writings of Josephus and Philo alike — is fundamentally wrong, and this mistake derives from the Essenes themselves. The Qumran members speak a very different language amongst themselves, prescribing “everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit” (1QS 9.21-22).5 As we saw above, already in Ben Sira’s time, the beginning of the second century b.c.e., there were esoteric “secret things” against which Ben Sira warns. The Essene Qumran community was a sect that considered part of its doctrines esoteric.6 Indeed, one might suggest that the tendency toward esotericism was fundamental to the Qumran worldview, as it is undoubtedly linked to Essene dualism, to the isolation of the community from the outside, to the doctrine of predestination, and to the belief that the community consists of God’s elect. As noted, the rules of conduct that governed the community were plainly visible, and so the community developed the notion that these are secret teachings that have now come to light. Furthermore, as noted, it was impossible to hide their doctrine of predestination.7 Even though the Qumran community (like the rabbinic sages) accepted the view that biblical prophecy had ended and hoped for its imminent renewal,8 its members felt that they must “be united in the counsel of God and walk in perfection in his sight, complying with all revealed things concerning the regulated times of their stipulations” (1QS 1.8-9). In other words, like present-day Mormons, the Qumran Essenes believed there was within them an ongoing divine revelation that guided them in matters of faith and instructed them concerning their shifting relationship with the broader Jewish community and the outside world as a whole. Hence the obligation of each member of the community to share with his colleagues the content of his personal revelation: “And every matter hidden from Israel but which has been

5. The entire passage is quite interesting; see 1QS 9.25-26. 6. The Qumran horoscopes are written in a secret code. See J. M. Allegro, “An Astrologi- cal Cryptic Document from Qumran,” DJD 4 (1954), 291-294; Y. Stracky, “Un texte messianique,” Mémorial du Centenaire de l’Ecole des Langues anciennes de l’Institut Catholique de Paris (Paris, 1964), 51-66. 7. Josephus’s description suggests they could not fully conceal their belligerent hatred of the outside world either. He states that they swear to love truth and reject liars (BJ 2.141), but also to hate the sinners and to fight alongside the righteous (BJ 2.139). 8. See 1QS 9.11. 9. The word ‘Israel’ here appears not to refer to the Jewish people as a whole but rather to the Qumran community, though this cannot be known with certainty.

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found out by the Interpreter, he should not keep hidden from them for fear of a spirit of desertion” (1QS 8.11-12; see also the Damascus Document 15.13-15). The aforementioned ‘Interpreter’ is, in Hebrew, qyah qrwdh, the one who is doresh, suggesting that esoteric scriptural interpretation plays an important role in Qumran’s theology of ongoing revelation. The Manual of Discipline goes on to argue that one must “be segregated from within the dwelling of the men of sin to walk to the desert in order to open there His path. As it is written: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’ (Isa. 40:3). This is the study of the law which he commanded through the hand of Moses, in order to act in compliance with all that has been revealed from age to age, and according to what the prophets have revealed through his holy spirit” (1QS 8.13-16). The path referred to by Isaiah is, then, the interpretation of the Torah.10 As for the phrase ‘according to what the prophets have revealed through his holy spirit,’ it doubtless refers first and foremost to the prophets’ ability to understand present and future events. Did the author of this passage believe that biblical prophecy contains secret teachings that can be revealed through scriptural interpretation? That indeed is the Essene position. Josephus, for example, notes that there are those among the Essenes who are able to foretell future events by immersing themselves in holy writ, undergoing various purification rituals, and studying the words of the prophets.11 Pesher Habakkuk attributes this very ability to the Teacher of Righteousness, the founder of the Qumran community. Thus the pesher to Habakkuk 1 speaks of “violators of the covenant who will not believe when they hear all that is going to happen to the final generation, from the mouth of the priest whom God has placed within the Community, to foretell the fulfillment of all the words of his servants, the prophets, by means of whom God has declared all that is going to happen to his people Israel” (1QpHab 2.6-10). It appears that the sectarian Pesher interpretation is a novel approach pioneered by the priest, that is, the Teacher of Righteousness. This is confirmed by the pesher’s interpretation of Habakkuk 2:2: “‘Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make

10. On the phrase midrash ha-torah see D. Flusser, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse (Bern, 1981), 101-104. 11. Josephus, BJ 2.159. Josephus names three Essenes who could predict the future: Judah the Essene (BJ 1.72-80; AJ 13.311-313), Menahem (AJ 15.373-379), and Simon (BJ 2.112-113). See Flavius Josephus, De Bello Judaico, O. Michael and O. Bauernfeind (eds.) (Darmstadt, 1959), 439 n. 83. Judah the Essene prophesied in Jerusalem during the short reign of Aristobulus I (104-103 b.c.e.), and it is possible that he was the Teacher of Righteousness who established the Qumran community, in which case the events recounted occurred after he left Jerusalem and went out into the wilderness.

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it plain on tablets so that a runner may read it.’ And God told Habakkuk to write what was going to happen to the last generation, but he did not let him know the consummation of the era. And as for what he says ‘so that a runner may read it,’ its interpretation concerns the Teacher of Righteousness, to whom God has made known all the mysteries of the words of his servants, the prophets” (1QpHab 6.14-7.5).12 According to this pesher, “so that a runner may read it” refers to the Teacher of Righteousness, who will arise in future days. He is the reader who will “run” through the revealed teachings of the prophets, discovering in them all their secret teachings. The prophets themselves were only granted divine inspiration sufficient for the literal sense, but God did not reveal to Habakkuk “what was going to happen to the last generation.”God instead decreed that the priestly Teacher of Righteousness be the one “to foretell the fulfillment of all the words of his servants, the prophets.” Note, moreover, that the actions of the Teacher of Righteousness are alluded to in the very words of Habakkuk: “so that a runner may read it.” The running image recalls the Manual of Discipline (8.14-16), where Isaiah 40:3 “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” is interpreted as alluding to the sectarian “doresh ha-torah,” the expounder of the law. Does this mean that the Qumran pesher writings are part of the secret things that are not to be revealed to others? Whatever the answer, it is clear that one of the core teachings of the Qumran community was “to act in compliance with all that has been revealed from age to age” (1QS 8.15, and see also 9.1). The ideological and halakhic correlation is the role of the Instructor, the maskil (see 1QS 9.12-26). According to Licht, this refers to the commandments that are known solely to the Qumran community, and are intended for particular ages — every age and its commandments.13 In my opinion, phrases such as “revealed from age to age,” “the regulated times of their stipulations” — phrases that refer to the shifting epochs — are tied primarily to the ideological flexibility of the sect, which allowed its members to adapt their behavior to the surrounding circumstances and Zeitgeist. The Qumranites saw the changes in their outlook “from age to age” as the result of revelation, and there is no question that the “law of the time” was hidden from outsiders, at least as far as maintaining a façade of amicability toward the outside world was concerned. This is stated explicitly in the Manual of Discipline: “And these are the regulations of behavior of the Inspector in these times, concern-

12. See B. Nitzan, Megillat Pesher Habakkuk (Jerusalem, 1986), 153-155, 171-172. 13. See Licht, Megillat ha-Serachim, 61, and see also 195-199 for a discussion of the ‘In- structor.’

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ing his love and his hatred; everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit. To them he should leave goods and handmade items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed before someone domineering him. He should be a man enthusiastic for the decree of the time, for the day of revenge” (1QS 9.21-24). In two fragments from the Damascus Document the Essenes say of themselves: “He uncovered their eyes for hidden things and they opened their ears and heard profound things and understood everything that happens before it comes upon them” (4Q266 [=4QDa] 2.5-6).14 It is true, then, that the Qumran community was in some way esoteric, but it is difficult to establish which of the doctrines could not be circulated to the outside world or, alternately, which of the doctrines they were able to keep secret. Their belief in predestination and their legal rulings — at least many of them — were well known to outsiders. The hatred toward the “men of the pit” was not widely known. Similarly, the Essenes succeeded in hiding the pesher literature from the outside world, along with their political views and their eschatological doctrines. We must also bear in mind that the difficulty in distinguishing the truly esoteric from the semi-revealed — and between the desire to conceal and true concealment — is not unique to the Qumran Essenes, but rather characteristic of all “mystic” groups.

14. This is a composite of the two fragments.

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20. The Jewish Origins of the Early Church’s Attitude toward the State

When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, it was guided in part by Paul’s words in his Epistle to the Romans: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God...therefore,whoeverresists authority resists what God has appointed, for those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct,buttobad...”(Rom.13:1-3). In the centuries that followed, the division between the secular government and the church became much more marked, but Paul’s teaching was again to become the basis of a religious worldview with the establishment of the Lutheran church. Paul’s words in Romans are, then, very significant and a proper understanding of their intellectual sources is a desideratum inasmuch as it may shed new light on this important Christian doctrine, and shed light on the afterlife of a sectarian Jew- ish group within the church. A number of scholars have noted the similarity between Paul’s “there is no authority except from God” and the position Josephus attributes to the Essenes, namely, that they vow “to keep faith (or loyalty) with all, especially those in power, since no one attains power without God” (BJ 2.140). It is only since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that this similarity can be properly explicated, as these texts provide a more comprehensive view of the Essene position vis-à-vis the secular government. The Dead Sea community developed a unique theological worldview. It adhered to predestination, or, in their words: “From the God of knowledge stems all there is and all there shall be. Before they existed he established their entire design. And when they have come into being, at their appointed time,

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they will execute all their works according to his glorious design, without altering anything” (1QS 3.15-16). This view was, in turn, tied to the division of mankind into the sons of light and the sons of darkness, with each individual’s fate already determined at the time of creation. God, moreover, decreed hatred between the two camps: “God has sorted them into equal parts until the last time, and has put an everlasting loathing between their divisions. Deeds of injustice are an abhorrence to truth and all the paths of truth are an abhorrence to injustice” (1QS 4.16-17). In the end of days, however, evil will be forever destroyed and with it all the sons of darkness. Needless to say, the Essene community in the Judean Desert counted themselves among the sons of light, God’s elect, while the rest of mankind — including all Jews who refuse to join with them — are the sons of darkness, destined for annihilation. This brief survey clarifies why the community that understood itself to be living in the end of days dreamt of its war against the sons of darkness, and imagined its conquest of Israel and then the world. For “this will be the day determined by him since ancient times for the war of extermination against the sons of darkness” (1QM 1.10). Still, the community had to determine how best to live prior to the arrival of this day, that is, in the corrupt world governed by the sons of darkness. The belief in predestination, which found expression in their activist spirit, also guided them in adopting a passive approach toward the wicked government of their day. After all, God’s elect must understand that the course of history is a matter of divine will and decree, and that there is no other path to political power. God has fixed the course of world history, dividing it into different ages, and has divulged these mysteries to the Qumran community. Thus, the Instructor, the maskil, must “fulfill the will of God in compliance with all revelation for every period; he should acquire all the wisdom that has been gained according to the periods and the decree of the period” (1QS 9.13-14). What, then, is the proper behavior toward the surrounding world? “And these are the regulations of behavior of the In- spector in these times, concerning his love and his hatred; everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit. To them he should leave goods and handmade items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed before someone domineering him.”The Qumran member was to hate the surrounding world of evil, but also to submit to the authorities all the same, since the day of judgment has not yet come; he must, then, “be a man enthusiastic for the decree of the time, for the day of revenge. He should perform (God’s) will in all that his hand should tackle and in all that he controls, as he commanded. And all that happens to him he should welcome freely and be gratified by nothing except God’s will. He should relish all the words of his mouth, wish for nothing that he has not commanded and be ever alert to the precept

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of God” (1QS 9.21-25). The sect’s submission toward the outside world was accompanied by an instruction to hate it — their pacifism was conditional, the result of their belief in predestination. The members of the community, then, could not pursue legal remedies in the present era, and so they prayed: “When distress is unleashed I shall praise him, just as I shall sing to him for his deliverance. I shall not repay anyone with an evil reward; with goodness I shall pursue man. For to God (belongs) the judgment of every living being, and it is he who pays man his wages. I shall not be jealous with a wicked spirit, and my soul shall not crave wealth by violence; I shall not be involved in any dispute with the men of the pit until the day of vengeance” (1QS 10.17-19). The Qumran theology demands that its followers “reply with meekness to the haughty of spirit, and with a broken spirit to the men of the bending (of the law), those who point the finger and speak evil and are keen on riches” (1QS 11.1-2). The much praised irenic tendencies of the Essenes were, then, little more than a façade of peaceful coexistence that hides behind it a dualistic ideology of hatred and a belief in a predestined fate that promises the Essene elect world domination and the annihilation of the wicked on the fixed day. If we examine Paul’s teachings regarding the proper Christian attitude toward the authorities, taking the position enunciated in the opening of Romans 13 as part of a broader discussion that begins in 12:9, we will find that Paul’s view reflects the very same ideas as are presented in the Scrolls. As noted, the Essene doctrine of submission is rooted in their periodization of world history, and the resulting belief that one must abide by “the decree of the period” (1QS 9.14). Paul too demands of his brethren (in the correct reading) “serve the age (kairos).” The similarity between Paul’s position and that of the Manual of Discipline is clear from what follows. Where Paul says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (Rom. 12:12), the Qumran text states, in much the same spirit, “when distress is unleashed I shall praise him, just as I shall sing to him for his deliverance” (1QS 10.18). Similarly, Paul exhorts his readers “do not be haughty but associate with the lowly” (Rom. 12:16), echoed in the Manual of Discipline’s vow: “to instruct in the teaching those who complain and to reply with meekness to the haughty” (1QS 11.1). The clearest parallel is between Paul’s demands “bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Rom. 12:14) and “do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all...neveravengeyourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom. 12:16-19). While the Manual of Discipline states: “I shall not repay anyone with an evil reward; with goodness I shall pursue

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man. For to God (belongs) the judgment of every living being, and it is he who pays man his wages” (1QS 10.19). Indeed, there is a marked linguistic similarity between the Qumran “with goodness I shall pursue a man” and Paul’s demand: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). There are other points of similarity between Paul’s teachings and the Qumran doctrine of submission, even if precise parallels have not yet been found in the Scrolls. Note, for example, Paul’s statement that “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads” (Rom. 12:20). As Krister Stendahl has noted, this statement — and its surprising employment of Proverbs 25:21-22 — is closer to the teachings of Qumran than to Jesus’ doctrine of love. Its meaning within the broader context of Romans is clear enough: do not repay evil with evil, rather “with goodness I shall pursue man.”In so doing, you “heap burning coals” on the head of your enemy since vindictive behavior would reduce the severity of God’s vengeance against the sinner. Though the Scrolls contain no explicit statement to this effect, the overall view fits well with the Qumran doctrine of apparent submission. Note furthermore Paul’s argument in favor of a conciliatory approach toward the enemies of the church: “never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19). This view is very similar to the qualified pacifism of the Scrolls, which is associated with an expectation of imminent vengeance. That is, the demand for “everlasting hatred of the men of the pit in clandestine spirit” is linked with one being “enthusiastic for the decree and for its time, for the day of revenge” (1QS 9.21-23). The Christian view, based on Jesus’ teachings of love, prevents Paul from suggesting one is commanded to hate. He can, however, justify the prohibition against human vengeance as allowing a freer path for divine wrath, as God states, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” The theological similarity to the Scrolls is, then, apparent, and so it comes as no surprise that Paul goes on to argue that there is no authority save God’s, the very position Josephus attributes to the Essenes. We have since learned from the Scrolls that this position is anchored in the Essene doctrine of predestination, the basis for the Essene belief that one should leave to the men of the pit “goods and handmade items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed before someone domineering him” (1QS 9.22). As noted, Paul makes similar arguments. True, Paul also argues that the authorities only punish the wicked—aviewthat is not attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls but rather a Christian innovation that is also found in 1 Peter (2:13-17). Despite this difference, Paul argues that one ought to submit to the authorities not only because of God’s wrath, but also because of “conscience” (Rom. 13:5), ap-

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parently alluding to his earlier statement: “leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay’” (Rom. 12:19). In short, it appears that Paul’s doctrine of the church’s need to submit to authority is a continuation of his earlier statements concerning submission to enemies. Both these views have parallels in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where they form part of the same ideology. The question arises, then, whether the passage from Romans is based on an Essene source that reached Paul indirectly, through his Christian teachers. One way to approach this hypothesis is through an examination of the passages in which Paul deals with topics other than the doctrine of submission. And indeed, these are replete with distinctly Essene ideas. Thus Paul’s statement: “hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9), has a precise parallel in the Manual of Discipline: “keep oneself at a distance from all evil . . . become attached to all good works” (1QS 1.5). Paul also urges his audience to “contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers” (Rom. 12:13), while the concern for communal needs caused the Essenes to share their wealth and exhibit their well-known hospitality. The practical and ideological solidarity of the Essenes is further echoed in Paul’s exhortation to “live in harmony with one another” (Rom. 12:16). This passage in Romans, then, contains instructions for behavior within the community, framed within a broader discussion of the proper relationship between the community and the surrounding world. Both aspects of Paul’s teachings have clear parallels in the Essene literature from Qumran. The question arises, then, whether Paul indirectly came upon an Essene source that addressed both the proper relationship between the Essenes and the sons of darkness who rule the world, and allusions to the love//adoration that is proper for the Instructor within the community. Interestingly, this combination is found in the Rule of Discipline, which includes “the regulations for the Instructor by which he shall walk with every living being” (1QS 9.12-21) and a concluding benediction (1QS 10.17-21, 26–11.2). Thus, the author of 1QS joins internal and external behavior by speaking of the need to have “compassionate love with the oppressed and to strengthen the hands of the dismayed, to teach understanding to those of stray spirit and to instruct in the teaching those who complain, to reply with meekness to the haughty of spirit, and with a broken spirit to the men of the bending (of the law), those who point the finger and speak evil, and are keen on riches” (1QS 10.26-11.2). It is possible, then, that Paul had in his possession another Essene source that promoted love toward members of the community and submission toward the outside world. Note also that Roman 12:8-13:7 contains no distinctly Christian elements. That said, even if our hypothesis is correct there is no

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question that Paul had no direct knowledge of this source. For Paul, like 1 Pe- ter, argues that the authorities only punish the wicked, a view that cannot be of Essene origin. To conclude: Paul’s teachings concerning the need to submit to the authorities are linked to his earlier discussion of proper behavior toward one’s enemies. The passage as a whole contains many Essene concepts, albeit in a subdued or muted form — e.g., Paul cannot demand of his brethren to secretly hate their enemies. Still, the similarity to the Qumran ideology is marked. So much so that it is possible that Paul’s teachings are drawn from an Essene source. The comparison between Romans and the Manual of Disci- pline sheds light on the conceptual background of Paul’s teachings. Unfortu- nately, we are unable to resolve the thorny historical question of how these teachings entered the early church in the first place and became so widespread that Paul could include them in his writings to the distant church in Rome. Despite this failure, we were able to examine the fascinating evolution of sectarian Jewish ideas into Christian thought, where they would exercise a dramatic influence on the history of the Christian world.

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21. The Isaiah Pesher and the Notion of Twelve Apostles in the Early Church

An important source for the study of the early church is the Qumran text that contains the pesher interpretation to Isaiah 54:11-12. The text, 4QpIsad (= 4Q164), was first published by Allegro,1 and has been discussed by Yadin,2 but its surprising ramifications for intellectual origins of the Christian insti- tute of twelve apostles have yet to be recognized. Here are the verses from Isa- iah, followed by the Qumran passage, with those of Yadin’s emendations that should be considered certain.

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, I am about to set your stones in eye-paint, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of jewels, and all your wall of precious stones” (Isa. 54:11-12).

1. J. M. Allegro, “More Isaiah Commentaries from Qumran’s Fourth Cave,” JBL 77 (1958), 215-221. 2. Y. Yadin, “The Newly Published Pesharim of Isaiah,” IEJ 9 (1959), 39-42.

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3. the assembly of his elect, like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones. [“I will make] 4. your pinnacles [of rubies].” Its interpretation concerns the twelve [...] 5. illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim [. . .] 6. any from among them missing, like the sun in all its light. “And a[ll] your wall of precious stones.” 7. Its interpretation concerns the chiefs of the tribes of Israel [. . .]

Yadin rightly argues that the Pesher assumes that the eschatological Jerusalem described by Isaiah symbolizes God’s elect, that is, the Qumran community itself. This interpretation is virtually certain. The building imagery is one of the most common symbols in the Qumran literature: the Community frequently likens itself to a building, to the temple, or to a city,3 a tendency that fits well with the interpretation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Jerusalem in the end of days as referring to the Community itself. Not all of the text survived and, as a result, some of the details of the Qumran interpretation are not clear. Nonetheless, it is evident that the Qumran author understood the different stones of Isaiah’s Jerusalem as symbols for the institution or institutions of the Community, either in the present or the future. These were made up of twelve individuals, a number that is cited explicitly in line 4 and again alluded to in line 5, which mentions the Urim and the Thummim, the twelve precious stones on the priestly breastplate, each bearing the name of one of the tribes (Exod. 28:17-21). This imagery is undoubtedly linked to the third allusion to the number twelve (lines 6-7), where the precious stones in Isaiah’s “Iwillmake...allyourwallofprecious stones” are interpreted as a reference to “the chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” Thus, while Isaiah does not mention the number twelve in the relevant verses, the Qumran author connects the Jerusalem stones in the prophet’s eschatological vision with the twelve stones of the priestly breastplate. The source for this interpretation is found in another prophecy concerning Jeru- salem in the end of days, Ezekiel’s, which our author employed as a bridge between Isaiah and the Urim and Thummim. For Ezekiel speaks of twelve gates in the eschatological Jerusalem, “the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel” (Ezek. 48:31) — just like the stones of the breastplate. The Qumran author seems to have located the connection between the two prophetic visions — Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s — and from them to the stones of the

3. See O. Betz, “Felsenmann und Felsengemeinde,” ZNW 48 (1957), 49-77; Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity,” 229-236; B. Gärtner, The Temple and the Commu- nity in Qumran and the New Testament (Cambridge, 1965).

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breastplate, in Isaiah 54:12: “I will make...yourgatesofjewels.” Though the interpretation of this phrase is not attested, it appears the author identifies Ezekiel’s twelve gates bearing the names of the tribes, with the gates Isaiah claims will be made of jewels — and thus the connection with the stones of the breastplate. Since this part of Isaiah’s prophecy plays a crucial role in the overall interpretation, and since the Qumran interpreters interpreted the biblical verses in their entirety, it stands to reason that the interpretation of “your gates of jewels” was located in a part of the scroll that is no longer extant. The only likely place where such matters could be alluded to comes at the end of line 4, which opens with the citation of “I will make your pinnacles of rubies,” while line 6 interprets the end of the biblical verse, “and all your wall of precious stones.”In light of this, I suggest, the passage should be reconstructed as follows: “[‘I will make] your pinnacles [of rubies].’Its interpretation concerns the twelve [jewels that] illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim,” etc. The advantage of this reconstruction is that it assumes that, like all other pesher interpretations, our passage does not skip over any of the interpreted verses. The interpretive approach of the passage is clear enough, at least in broad strokes. It is much more difficult to determine what institution or institutions the author has in mind when he speaks of “the twelve,” invokes the stones of the breastplate, and links Isaiah’s “gates of jewels” with the “chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” The other Dead Sea Scrolls suggest two possible answers, since they know of two groups that consist of twelve members. The first is mentioned in the Manual of Discipline: “In the Community council (there shall be) twelve men and three priests, perfect in everything that has been revealed from all the law” (1QS 8.1-2).4 Interestingly, we find that both the Man- ual of Discipline and Pesher Isaiah employ similar terminology: both speak of “the Community council” (the pesher reads: “they founded the council of the Community”), of priests, and of twelve-person institutions. Moreover, immediately after mentioning the twelve people, the Manual of Discipline employs building imagery very similar to that found in the pesher. Thus we find the Community likened to “a holy house for Israel and the foundation of the holy of holies for Aaron” (1QS 8.5-6), and similarly to “the tested rampart, the precious cornerstone whose foundations do not shake or tremble from their place” (1QS 8.7-8). If we assume that the twelve people of the Manual of Dis- cipline are the institution referred to in Pesher Isaiah, we may propose the following reconstruction of lines 1-5:

4. On this verse and the difficulties it entails see P. Wernberg-Møller, The Manual of Dis- cipline (Leiden, 1957), 122-123.

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1. [Its interpretation is that he will make] all Israel like eye-paint around the eye. “And lay your foundations with sapphires.” [Its interpretation:] 2. They founded the council of the Community, [the] priests and the peo[ple within] 3. the assembly of his elect, like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones. [“I will make] 4. your pinnacles [of rubies].” Its interpretation concerns the twelve [jewels that] 5. illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim.

According to this proposed reconstruction, eschatological Jerusalem is the Qumran community, “the council of the Community” or “the assembly of his elect”; the prophetic phrase “I am about to . . . lay your foundations5 in sapphires” means that the priests and the people — i.e., the “twelve men and three priests” that the Manual of Discipline characterizes as “the council of the Community” — are “like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones,” that is, the foundation upon which the rest of the Qumran community rests. Accord- ing to my reconstruction, these twelve people are alluded to by Isaiah’s “I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of jewels, and all your wall of precious stones,”all analogues to the twelve stones of the priestly breastplate that bear the names of the tribes. The institution of the twelve in the Manual of Discipline corresponds, then, to the “chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” However, it is clear that this reconstruction is hypothetical and cannot be definitively proven. For example, the Qumran writings do not contain the phrase “the priests and the people,” and the suggestion that the “people” refers to the twelve individuals in the council of the Community is doubtful. Finally, most scholars suggest that the Manual of Discipline’s “twelve men and three priests” refers to a group of fifteen, rather than twelve of whom three are priests — and this view seems persuasive. Pesher Isaiah three times alludes to an institution (or to institutions) that contain only twelve. Another major difficulty in identifying the institution of the twelve in Pesher Isaiah with the twelve mentioned in the Manual of Discipline has to do with the fact that these twelve individuals are not mentioned anywhere else in the Qumran literature. Does this mean that the institution in question

5. The Septuagint, along with the first Isaiah Scroll in Qumran, reads “and your foundations” (Fyowdwsyw) rather than “I am about to...layyourfoundations” (Fyodsyw). Though he cites the verse according to the Masoretic text, the interpretation may be informed by the alternate reading as he glosses the phrase: “[Its interpretation:] They founded the council of the Community.”

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played a minor role in the Qumran community? If we could establish that Pesher Isaiah is alluding to this group, its importance would rise dramatically. But even the Manual of Discipline does not fully clarify the role and function of the twelve. A number of scholars believe that the twelve laymen and three priests constitute some sort of internal committee within the broader community,6 but it is also possible that the Manual of Discipline is speaking of the “council of the Community” itself, establishing a minimum quorum of twelve lay members and three priests.7 Despite these difficulties, it is possible that Pesher Isaiah refers to the twelve individuals from the Manual of Disci- pline, especially in light of the surprising parallels (discussed more fully below) with the twelve apostles. The apostles, after all, started out as Jesus’ inner circle, but later — following his death — became the executive committee that oversaw the activities of the Jerusalem church. It should be noted that there is another Qumran institution that consists of twelve individuals, and the Pesher may be referring to it. In the War Scroll we find: “They shall arrange the chiefs of the priests behind the High Priest and his second (in rank), twelve chiefs to serve in perpetuity before God” (1QM 2.1-2), and Yadin holds that this is the institution alluded to in Pesher Isaiah.8 As a result, he reconstructs the passage as follows:

[“I am about to set your stones in eye-paint”] 1. [Its interpretation is that he will make] all Israel like eye-paint around the eye. “And lay your foundations with sapphires.” [Its interpretation:] 2. They founded the council of the Community, [among the] priests: and the [council is] 3. the assembly of his elect, like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones. [“I will make] 4. your pinnacles [of rubies].” Its interpretation concerns the twelve [priests that?] 5. illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim [and no stones of] 6. any from among them missing, like the sun in all its light. “And a[ll] your wall of precious stones.” 7. Its interpretation concerns the chiefs of the tribes of Israel [. . .]

6. See, among others, J. T. Milik, Dix ans de découvertes dans le desert de Juda (Paris, 1957), 64; F. M. Cross, The Ancient Library of Qumran (New York, 1961), 231-232. 7. This is Licht’s view in Megillat ha-Serachim, 167-168. 8. Yadin, “The Newly Published Pesharim of Isaiah,” n. 2. In what follows I make use of this article as well as personal communications with Prof. Yadin.

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According to this reconstruction, the sapphires of Isaiah 54:11 are interpreted as the priests that are the foundations of the Community. It is unclear whether these priests, mentioned in line 2, are the same as the twelve priests Yadin provides in line 4. Be all that as it may, it is evident that the twelve priests in question cannot be identical with the twelve chiefs of the tribes of Israel adduced in line 7 as a midrashic gloss of Isaiah’s “all your wall of precious stones.” The advantage of Yadin’s reconstruction lies in the fact that all of the prophet’s building symbols need not be construed as a reference to a single institution. The advantage of my reconstruction — to which we will return presently — is that the symbols in question do in fact refer to one institution in the New Testament: the institution of the twelve apostles. Yadin’s decision to supply the word “priests” at the end of line 4 is based, to be sure, on the overall importance of the priesthood in the Qumran literature, as well as the explicit reference to priests in line 2. No less important, however, are the twelve priests in the War Scroll, and the fact that there are some parallels in other scrolls to the end of our lines 5-6 — all of which refer to priests. Yadin rightly notes that the phrase “illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim” in line 5 is similar to the words of another scroll, where we read: “And about Levi he says ‘Give to Levi your Thummim and your Urim’ (Deut. 33:8)” (4Q175 [= 4QTestimonia] 14). Similarly with the phrase “the sun in all its light,”which has near parallels in the Qumran scrolls dealing with the priesthood and in cognate literature.9 According to Yadin’s reconstruction, Pesher Isaiah refers to two distinct institutions, each of which consists of twelve individuals: the twelve priests of line 4, and the twelve chiefs of the tribes of Israel at line 7. And indeed we find these two institutions mentioned side by side in the War Scroll.10 Alongside them this text also mentions “the chiefs of the Levites to serve always, twelve, one per tribe” (1QM 2.2-3). The Qumran eschatology posits, then, a set of individuals charged with each of the tribes: a priest, a member of the Levite tribe, and the tribe’s chief. This tribal structure has no parallel in the texts describing the non-eschatological Qumran community, which knows the number twelve only in the context of the individuals in the council of the Com- munity. It is true that Pesher Isaiah interprets the words of the prophet as though they are aimed at the end of days, but the Pesher itself refers to the fact that “they founded the council of the Community” in past tense, so that at least this event refers to the present, non-eschatological reality. Further-

9. Compare the Testament of Levi 4.3, and the priestly blessing in 1QSb (=1Q28b). See D. Barthélemy and J. T. Milik, Qumran Cave I (Oxford, 1955), 125ff. 10. Yadin, The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness, 262-263.

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more, it should be emphasized that the twelve priests — just like the twelve individuals in the Manual of Discipline — are mentioned but once in the Scrolls published thus far, so it is difficult to ascertain the precise organizational context of the fragmentary pesher.11

It is a pity that we cannot determine the precise nature of the institution alluded to in Pesher Isaiah. Were this text preserved in its entirety, it would probably provide us with clear information regarding the origins of the early Christian institution of the twelve apostles. For we find striking parallels between the New Testament and the pre-Christian Qumran writings with regard to the religious and conceptual underpinnings of the twelve apostles, the inner circle of Jesus. Consider Revelation 21:12-14 which, like Pesher Isaiah, describes eschatological Jerusalem. According to John of Patmos,

It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israel- ites; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

It is evident that the author bases himself first and foremost on Ezekiel 48:31- 34, interpreting “the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel” (Ezek. 48:31) as if the names of the tribes are inscribed on each of the twelve gates. Revelation then goes on to characterize the gates as follows: “And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass” (Rev. 21:21). Scholars have rightly recognized that The Apocalypse of John here echoes the words of Isaiah 54:12. The similarity to this verse, or, more precisely, to the Qumran Pesher’s interpretation of this verse, becomes more pronounced once we consider John of Patmos’ description of the twelve foundation stones of eschatological Jerusa- lem. Isaiah says only “I am about to lay your foundations (or: your foundations are)12 with sapphires,” while Revelation provides a more detailed account, suggesting that the city has twelve foundations, which bear the names

11. It is further worth noting that Yadin’s reconstruction renders lines 2-3 somewhat awk- ward stylistically. 12. See above, n. 5.

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of the twelve apostles of the lamb (21:14). These foundations symbolically indicate that the Christian community is founded upon the twelve apostles, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, whose names are engraved on the twelve gates. As noted, our Pesher passage refers to the number twelve three times (lines 4, 5, and 7). In the third of these, Isaiah’s “precious stones” are interpreted as “the chiefs of the tribes of Israel,” corresponding to the names of the tribes of Israel written (according to Revelation) on the twelve gates of Je- rusalem. The twelve of line 4 “illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim,” just as The Apocalypse of John states that “the foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel” and then goes on to list, in a different order, the twelve precious stones of the priestly breastplate (Rev. 21:19-20)! The similarity between Pesher Isaiah and Revelation 21 is threefold: both interpret eschatological Jerusalem and its physical components as symbols of their respective communities; both juxtapose ideas drawn from the same prima facie unrelated biblical sources (Isaiah 54:11-12, Ezekiel 48:31-34, and Exodus 28:17-21); and both employ the same unusual symbols. It is true that stone symbolism was employed throughout the Jewish world,13 but taken together, the significant parallels between Pesher Isaiah and The Apocalypse of John suggest a substantive and theological link between the texts. We have already noted that the Qumran community typically understands itself in terms of a structure — the Temple or a house. We may assume, then, that the images of eschatological Jerusalem in The Apocalypse of John — so close to the imagery to Pesher Isaiah — derive from the Qumran circles. Particularly, in light of the fact that we have proven elsewhere that another similar New Testament image (1 Peter 2:5-6) has a genuine literary connection to the Qumran writings.14 Still, the question remains whether the literary similarity is the result of a later, secondary influence exercised near the time the Book of Revelation was composed, under Domitian, or perhaps the result of a Christian tradition influenced by Qumran at the very beginning of Christianity. I believe the answer to this question lies in the fact that most of the points of contact relate to issues that involve the twelve

13. See, e.g., Midrash Yelamdenu in Yalkut Shim‘oni to Numbers 23:9: “Since the Holy One Blessed Be He foresaw that Abraham was going to come into being, he said, Behold, I have found a rock (artp) on which to build, upon which to establish the world. Thus he called Abraham ‘rock,’ as it is written: ‘Look to the rock from which you were hewn’ (Isa. 51:1; and compare the words of Jesus to Peter in Matt. 16:18). See also the midrashic literature to Genesis 49:24 (“by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel”); Genesis 28:18 (“he took the stone that had been under his head”); Psalm 118:22 (“the stone that the builders rejected”). See also below, n. 16. 14. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity.”

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apostles. It will be necessary to examine the evidence of the other books of the New Testament in comparison both with Revelation and with the Qumran sources, thus establishing that the similarity exists in all strata of the early Christian texts, from Jesus to the composition of The Apocalypse of John. Once this has been done, we will see that in establishing the institution of the twelve apostles, Jesus was influenced by the Qumran community, and that The Apocalypse of John here preserves an apostolic tradition that dates back to the beginning of Christianity. We will begin our survey with the later sources, moving backward toward the earlier, in other words, from Revelation to Jesus himself.

III

The Book of Revelation is not the only source that identifies the apostles as the foundation of the early church. In Ephesians we find: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grown into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together in the spirit into a dwelling place for God” (Eph. 2:19-22).15 Ephesians here combines the symbolism of the city with the symbolism of the Temple, a tendency attested both in the Scrolls and elsewhere in the New Testament. As in Revelation, the community’s structure rests on the apostles, and it appears the same traditions underlie Ephesians and Revelation. Also of note is Paul’s description of his visit to the Jerusalem Church where he meets “James and Cephas and John, who were acknowl- edged pillars” (Gal. 2:9). This terminology is no doubt taken from the Jerusa- lem Church of the day, as it is known to Clement of Rome at the end of the

15. See on this matter Hebrews 11:13-15; 13:14; Philippians 3:20. Another relevant source is Hebrews 12:21-25, which speaks of the church as “the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusa- lem.” The Greek of verse 23 is particularly important: pneÖmasi (pneÖmati) dika¾wn teteleiwmŸnwn. It further appears to be a link between the images in Pesher Isaiah and Revela- tion, on the one hand, and, on the other, Hebrews 11:10, where we read that Abraham “looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”A number of midrashim (see above, n. 13) liken the sons of Jacob to twelve stones. As noted, Revelation 21:12 asserts that the gates of eschatological Jerusalem will bear the names of the twelve tribes, and Pesher Isaiah identifies the precious stones of the future Jerusalem with “the chiefs of the tribes of Israel.”It is possible, then, that Hebrews’ comments that Abraham “looked forward to the city that has foundations” are influenced by an unknown interpretation that identified the twelve sons of Jacob with the foundation stones of eschatological Jerusalem.

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first century, as we see from his Epistle to the Corinthians, which states: “Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars [of the Church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles” (5:2-5); Peter and Paul are mentioned shortly after. To be sure, the pillar served as a symbol for national leaders in broader Jewish circles as well,16 but as a designation of the head of the Jerusalem Church it is undoubtedly tied to the highly developed building symbolism employed both by the church and the Qumran community. Another relevant source comes from Revelation 3:12: “If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” In this verse, the pillar image is tied to the Temple and to eschatological Jerusalem, the symbol of the community in both Pesher Isaiah and in Revelation 21. Just as Revelation 21:14 has the names of the apostles on the twelve foundation stones of the city, here we find the symbolic pillar adorned with names. The pillar, then, is part of Revelation’s foundation stone symbolism, and it stands to reason that the title ‘pillars’ was not a mere honorific the Jerusalem Church gave its three leaders, but rather part of a broader image of the building imagery — with its various architectonic components — used for the church and its institutions. It appears, then, that the view of the twelve foundations, i.e. the twelve apostles, which is explicit in Revelation 21 and alluded to in Ephesians 2:20, was part of the Jerusalem Church’s ideology from the outset. The question of the ultimate origin of this idea, however, remains open. One possibility is that it developed within the Jerusalem Church under the influence of the Qumran community, for we have seen that very similar ideas appear in Pesher Isaiah. Another possibility is that Jesus himself established the twelve apostles, paralleling the similar Qumran institution, thus allowing the originally Dead Sea symbolism to be preserved in the early Christian community. We begin our analysis with a logion preserved in Matthew, where Jesus addresses Peter, saying: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). A number of scholars have noted the similarity between this statement and ones like it in the Dead Sea Scrolls.17 The closest parallel is Hodayot 14.26- 36, which addressed God as follows: “for you place the foundation upon rock, and beams to the correct size, and a true plumb line to stretch out, tested

16. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai is called “the right pillar” by his disciples in b. Berakhot 29b, and Abraham is referred to as “the pillar of the world” in Exodus Rabba 2.13. 17. See Betz, “Felsenmann und Felsengemeinde.”

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stones to build a fortress which will not shake. All who enter there will not stagger, for a foreigner will not penetrate it; its gates are armored doors which do not permit entry, with unbreakable strong bars.”During the eschatological wars against evil the hero “will break open the encirclement...intoanendless broad place. (He will open) the everlasting gates [= the gates of Hell] to take out weapons of war”; however, the members of the Community will remain in their fortress and he will protect them even in this hour of ultimate distress. The similarity between Jesus’ words to Peter and Hodayot 14 is marked and startling. The key difference is, of course, the identity of the rock upon which the community is founded: in the Qumran text it is God, while Jesus assigns this role to Peter, much as the midrashic text states that God founded his work on a rock, i.e., Abraham.18 The apostle Peter is, then, the rock upon which the church is established, much as The Apocalypse of John and Ephe- sians identify the twelve apostles with the foundation stones of the city of God, that is, the church. If we could establish with certainty that Matthew 16:18 is one of Jesus’ authentic sayings, we could cite it as evidence that Jesus described at least one of the apostles in the imagery of a church founded on apostles. It seems, however, that the saying — at least in the form preserved by Matthew — is not authentic, and may have been reworked so as to emphasize Peter’s importance in the post-Jesus Jerusalem Church.19 Indeed, there is no indication in the authentic Jesus sayings that he intended to establish an independent church. The Greek word translated as “church” in the NRSV appears only once more in the synoptic gospels, again in a Matthew saying (18:17) that is rightly considered inauthentic. Nonetheless, it is significant that the entire passage (Matthew 16:17-19) is one of the most “Hebrew” in the gospels in terms of its language and its expressions. The Hebrew original was undoubtedly close to the rabbinic panegyrics, which employ an elevated, nearly poetic language. The first sentence certainly appears authentic.20 It is possible, then,

18. See above, n. 13. 19. See the discussion of O. Cullmann, Petrus (Zürich, 1952), 176-238. 20. Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:17 — “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” — are similar, on the one hand, to the rabbinic panegyrics that open with the word “blessed” (see also Luke 11:27), and, on the other, to the hymn of praise in Matthew 11:25-30 (Luke 10:21-22). There Jesus says: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants....Allthings have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to re- vealhim....”Thelyricandconceptual similarity between Jesus’ hymn and the Hodayot scroll from Qumran suggests these may be the authentic words of Jesus. See D. Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview.”The conceptual similarity between Jesus’ hymn and Matthew 16:17 may, in turn, strengthen the idea that the praise of Peter was in fact spoken by Jesus.

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that Jesus’ praise of Peter is the source of the passage as a whole, though its present form is the result of later reworking that focused on the verse in question (Matthew 16:18).21 Jesus’ description of Peter as the rock upon which the church will be founded is not, then, definitive proof that Jesus held that his community would be based on twelve apostles. For in any case, the statement can be explicated in light of the church-building analogy, where the building includes a foundation and rocks, the same imagery that underlies the eschatological vision of Jerusalem in Revelation and in Pesher Isaiah. Our question, then, is whether there is another instance in which Jesus employs the building imagery. During his final visit to Jerusalem, Jesus famously prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed and the corrupt national leadership replaced by better heirs (Mark 12:1-12; Matthew 21:33-46; Luke 20:9-19). Drawing on Isaiah 5, Jesus likens Israel to a vineyard and tells of the criminal tenants whom the owner will eventually destroy, leaving the vineyard to new tenants. Here Jesus adds: “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?” (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17). To whom is Jesus alluding when he cites Psalm 118:22? In Acts (4:11) and 1 Peter (2:7),22 this verse is interpreted as a reference to Jesus. As a result we find a widespread belief that Jesus alluded to himself as the rejected stone that would become the cornerstone. Clearly, the parable about the tenants who kill the only son of the vineyard’s owner prefigures Jesus’ own expected death at the hands of the corrupt national leadership. However, it is not clear that Jesus cited Psalm 118 to suggest that he was going to be rejected — that is, tried and executed — but after his death would become a cornerstone of a great movement or of all Israel. Ephesians 2:20 certainly identifies Jesus as the cornerstone of the symbolic building founded on the priests and the apostles, a view that may have been influenced by a Christological interpretation of the Psalm verse in question. The parable of the vineyard, however, points to another possibility. Jesus concludes the parable with the assertion that the owner of the vineyard “will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants,” then turning to his audience asks if they have not read in Scriptures that “The stone that the builders rejected has become a cornerstone.” It appears, then,

21. Might the reworking not be later than is commonly thought? Might it not have occurred only once the Hebrew logion was translated into Greek? It should be noted that at the most critical juncture the Greek word order breaks with the literal translation from the Hebrew: o¼kodom©sw mou tªn ›kklhs¾an instead of tªn ›kklhs¾an mou! 22. 1 Peter joins the symbolism of the building — taken from the Qumran worldview (see my “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity”) — with the interpretation of the one stone as a symbol of Jesus.

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that the stone stands for those who, according to Jesus, will receive the vineyard (Israel) after the destruction of the bad tenants. The rejected stone will become the cornerstone of the House of Israel. Those who are rejected are the poor, the meek, the poor in spirit and the persecuted, whom Jesus promises the Kingdom of Heaven. That is, those that are last will become first. This interpretation fits not only the context of the parable, but also Jesus’ overall approach, for he found similar views — though based in a more radical social ideology — within the Scrolls. It will come as no surprise if it can eventually be shown that the Qumran community, which frequently employed building symbolism to describe themselves, interpreted “the stone that the builders rejected has become a cornerstone” as referring to themselves. A similar view appears in the parable of the trees in Hodayot 16.8-15: At the present time, the community is “not considered, nor its sealed mystery known” but in future days it will rise up to its highest apex. We are faced with two possible interpretations: my view, that Jesus cites “a stone that the builders rejected” as a sign of the glorious future that awaits the poor and downtrodden, and the traditional view that Jesus adduces the verse in reference to himself as a cornerstone. In either case, the citation of the verse demonstrates that Jesus too employed building symbolism.23 Already Jesus’ teacher, John the Baptist, employed his own building symbolism: “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8). We have traced the building symbolism from The Apocalypse of John to the words of John the Baptist, concluding that this imagery was apparently not foreign to Jesus. We further established that the idea that the twelve apostles are the foundation stones of the church was well known among the early followers of Jesus, dating at the latest to the years immediately following his death. If Jesus’ saying that Peter is the rock upon which the church is to be built is authentic, or at least contains an authentic kernel, then Jesus employed a nearly identical motif to describe the most important of his apostles. The material discussed thus far suggests that the similarity between the eschatological Jerusalem visions of Revelation and Pesher Isaiah (by no means limited to the symbolism of the twelve foundation stones) is not the result of a secondary influence exerted by the Qumran community on the Jerusalem church. It is far more likely that Jesus established the institution of the twelve apostles, in part due to the influence of Qumran ideology and institutions. Significant support for this view comes from another of Jesus’ sayings, a say-

23. There are some scholars who argue that the Psalms citation is a late addition, but this view is unpersuasive, especially in light of the interpretation proposed here.

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ing upon which Pesher Isaiah casts new light. Jesus promises his twelve apostles that in the end of days, “when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30).24 Most scholars consider this an authentic saying of Jesus, since the promise that the twelve apostles will judge the twelve tribes in the end of days highlights the Jewish national element in Jesus’ religious worldview.25 This promise is usually understood as a reference to the apostles ruling over the tribes, that is, becoming the chiefs of the tribes of Israel. The appearance of the phrase “the chiefs of the tribes of Israel” in Pesher Isaiah, a text that contains numerous motifs that appear in relation to the institution of the twelve apostles, only strengthens this interpretation. That said, if we examine Jesus’ saying as it appears in Matthew — and this seems to be the more original form26 — we find that the twelve apos-

24. See R. Bultmann, Die Geschichte der synoptischen Traditionen (Göttingen, 1957), 171 n. 4. Following the lead of earlier scholars, Bultmann rightly links Luke 22:30 with Revelation 3:20-21. According to Luke, Jesus promises the twelve apostles that they will eat and drink at his table, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. In Revelation, these motifs are reworked into a personal promise to the believer, who will overcome the present hardships: “I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev. 3:20-21). A comparison of the logion in the gospels and in Revelation indicates that: i. The reference to the eschatological feast, absent in Matthew, is authentic; ii. Matthew’s statement about the twelve sitting with the Son of Man on his throne, absent in Luke, is also authentic. We can further compare Revelation 3:20-21 with the previous verse from Revelation (3:12), which similarly speaks of conquest. There too we witness that a church tradition concerning the communal institutions has been reworked into a promise made to the individual believer. He is, as the verse states, “like a pillar” and thus able to withstand the present tribulations (and see Galatians 2:9 on the three pillars of the church). These are the same motifs that we find in Reve- lation (21:14), that is, in the description of the twelve foundation stones of eschatological Jerusa- lem, stones that bear the names of the twelve apostles. Thus there is a link, based on an early Christian tradition, between the three Revelation passages: Revelation 3:20-21 (compare Jesus’ words to the twelve apostles in Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30); Revelation 3:12 (compare Galatians 2:9 on the three pillars of the church); and Revelation 21:14 (compare Revelation 3:12, Ephesians 2:19-22, and Matthew 16:18). In addition, we have already pointed out the similarity between Revelation 21 and Pesher Isaiah with regard to their description of Jerusalem in the end of days. Here, then, is another argument favoring the view that Revelation reflects early traditions dating back to the first Christian community. These traditions, that apparently originate in the teachings of Jesus himself, are linked to the pre-Christian ideology and institutions of the Dead Sea community. 25. Bultmann (Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition, 170-171) believes that it originates early in the Jerusalem church; see the literature he cites, as well as the 1958 Supplement to his book, p. 24. Also relevant is G. Bornkamm, Jesus von Nazareth (Stuttgart, 1956), 138. 26. See Bultmann, Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition, 171.

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tles will sit on their thrones in judgment of the tribes while the Son of Man is likewise seated on his throne. Now, both the gospels and 1 Enoch clearly indicate that the Son of Man sits on his throne when judging mankind. It would appear, then, that Jesus is not only promising his apostles that in the end of days they will be the chiefs of the tribes of Israel, but that they will serve as the tribes’ judges in the final judgment.27 Where does Jesus come upon such an idea? Pesher Isaiah suggests that it was one of the core ideas of the institution of the twelve. Revelation (21:12) states that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on the twelve gates of eschatological Jerusalem, while the twelve foundation stones of the cities bear the names of the twelve apostles (21:14). These foundation stones, moreover, are none other than the precious stones of the priestly breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim (21:19-20). The identification of the breastplate stones with the stones of eschatological Jeru- salem is also attested in Pesher Isaiah: “Its interpretation concerns the twelve [. . .] illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim.” As noted, we also find here mention of the “chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” If the twelve chiefs are symbolized by the precious stones of the breastplate — which bear the names of each tribe and serve in rendering judgment — it follows that there is a link between the chiefs and the function of judgment. The symbolism of The Apocalypse of John is fundamentally identical with that of Pesher Isaiah, and helps clarify why Jesus would assert that the twelve apostles will judge the tribes of Israel in the end of days. If we compare the two logia of Jesus with the words of Revelation and of Pesher Isaiah, we find that Jesus’ description is rather thin where the other sources are rich in details. The logion describing Peter as the rock upon which the church will be built belongs to the symbolism of the twelve foundation stones of the community, while the assertion that the twelve apostles will judge the tribes of Israel is best understood in light of the identification of the twelve foundation stones with the Urim and Thummim. Even if the saying concerning Peter has not been reached in its original form, it is nonetheless clear that the connection between the two sayings of Jesus and the symbolism of Revelation and Pesher Isaiah sheds light on the figure and teachings of Je- sus. It stands to reason that if the Qumran texts — and not only Revelation — contain a full-fledged ideology surrounding the institution of the twelve, the

27. See Daniel 7:22; Wisdom of Solomon 3:8; 1 Corinthians 6:2 (and 4:8). On the idea that the righteous, or perhaps the national leaders, will participate in the final judgment see Billerbeck, Kommentar, 4.1097, 1103-1104. The same idea appears in Pesher Habakkuk 5:4-5: “in the hand of his chosen ones God will place the judgment over all the peoples; and by their reproof all the evildoers of his people will be pronounced guilty.”

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roots of this institution lie in the pre-Christian Dead Sea community, whose influence on the early church is well established.

Most scholars today argue rightly that Jesus himself established the institution of the twelve apostles.28 The most compelling proof for this view is that following the death of Jesus, when Judah Iscariot, who was one of the twelve apostles, betrayed his master and apparently died (Acts 1:15-26), another apostle was added to complete the number twelve.29 This suggests that already with Jesus’ establishment of the institution the number of apostles was set at twelve. The centrality of the number is further reflected in the fact that there is some variation in the names of apostles in different New Testament lists,30 but they always number twelve. The gospels preserve the echo of a tradition that at first Jesus selected five students, a tradition preserved in the Babylonian Talmud as well (San- hedrin 43a).31 As with the apostles, the number is uniformly fixed, though here it is five, even with the names changed. It appears that the number is not random, as indicated by the rabbinic sources:32 “Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples” (m. Avot 2.8); the number of disciples Rabbi Aqiva had during the years of persecution was similarly five;33 the Passover Haggadah lists five sages who were seated in Bene Berak; and the rabbinic sources further speak of a group of five sages.34 We find, then, that when Jesus selected five disciples he was following an approach he received from the world of the sages; in expanding the institution to twelve apostles he acted under the influence of (or in competition with) the Essenes, as evidenced by the marked similarity in the ideologies of the twelve in the New Testament and Pesher Isaiah.

28. See the full and well-argued discussion of the issue in E. Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums (Stuttgart, 1924), 1.264-299. 29. See the discussion in K. H. Rengstorf, “Die Zuwahl des Matthias,” Studia Theologica 15 (1961), 35-67. 30. See the chart in Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge, 295. 31. See the discussion in C. H. Dodd, Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel (Cam- bridge, 1963), 302-306. 32. My friend Shmuel Safrai called my attention to the institution of the five in rabbinic literature. 33. B. Yebamot 62a, and compare b. Sanhedrin 14a. 34. T. Miqvaot 7.10, p. 660; t. Tohorot 9.14, pp. 670-671; p. Betzah 3.6.62a; b. Mo{ed Qatan 10a; and see also Tractate Soferim 1.7: “It happened that five elders....”

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It remains to be seen whether Jesus was influenced by the Essene worldview directly, or through the mediation of John the Baptist’s group, which was close to but not part of the Essenes. The latter possibility is quite plausible. Not only did Jesus and John know each other personally and their disciples maintain ties, but though evidence concerning John the Baptist and his followers is meager, it may suggest that Jesus established the institution of the twelve apostles under the influence of John the Baptist’s disciples. We saw above that the ideology of the twelve is based on both the number itself and on the building imagery, so it is worth repeating that both these elements appear in the words of John the Baptist: “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8). The Baptist — whose worldview was remarkable close to that of the Qumran community — here provides a colorful and original interpretation of the imagery of building stones as a foundation for God’s elect community. As for the number twelve, Acts notes there were twelve disciples baptized in the baptism of repentance by John (19:1-7). Since John the Baptist employed the building imagery and his disciples attributed some significance to the number twelve, it stands to reason that Jesus’ decision to establish twelve apostles was influenced by the Baptist and his circle, rather than by the Essenes, directly. We noted at the outset of our study that it is difficult to determine the precise nature and identity of the institution (or institutions) to which Pesher Isaiah refers. Were we to solve that problem we would establish the identity of the Essene institution that served as the model (whether directly or indirectly) for the Christian institution of the twelve apostles. Pesher Isaiah might then shed light not only on the ideological background of the twelve apostles, but on the organizational function of this Essene institution, and perhaps on the administrative role of the Christian apostleship. Unfortunately, we cannot even identify the relevant institution in Pesher Isaiah — largely due to the poor physical condition of the scroll. Yadin’s reconstruction of the text suggests we are dealing with three distinct institutions: the Qumran priesthood as a whole (lines 2-3), the twelve priests mentioned in the War Scroll (lines 4- 6) and the twelve chiefs of the tribes of Israel (line 7). If we accept this reconstruction and the ensuing conclusions, it follows that the Christian institution of the twelve apostles emerged out of a merger of two eschatological Qumran institutions, that is, the twelve priests and the twelve chiefs of the tribes of Israel. We may also assume that one of the ideas that the Dead Sea community associated with its priests was transferred to the apostles, namely, that they function as a foundation stone of sorts for the community as a whole. In other words, the twelve apostles took on the priestly ideology of

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Qumran — a plausible suggestion since the early church never assigned a particular role to its priestly members. If so, there exists a correlation between the institution and the ideology of the twelve apostles, on the one hand, and the messianic belief expressed in Hebrews. For here too we find that the belief in a messiah was transferred from Aaron to Jesus, who is traditionally seen as coming from the house of David. In this manner, the Qumran belief in dual messiahs, one priestly, the other lay, is transformed in Hebrews to the belief in a single messianic figure.35 The possibility exists, then, that the Christian apostleship is the single product of different Qumran institutions and different ideological organizations. It should be recalled, however, that the symbolism of Pesher Isaiah — where the number twelve is stated explicitly once (line 4) and alluded to twice more (lines 5 and 7) — is applied in the New Testament (and in The Apoca- lypse of John in particular) to a single institution, the apostleship. Perhaps, then, Pesher Isaiah too deals with a single Qumran institution, one made up of twelve individuals that served as a model for Jesus when he selected the twelve apostles from among his disciples. It may also be true that this institution is identical with the twelve individuals mentioned in 1QS 8.1, alongside the three priests. As noted, however, there is no way to definitively answer this important question, as the surviving copy of Pesher Isaiah is badly damaged. The chart on page 323 summarizes the main parallels between the New Testament’s statements concerning the twelve apostles, and those of Pesher Isaiah. As the chart demonstrates, the fullest parallels are between Pesher Isa- iah and Revelation, though the other parallels indicate the symbolism of the twelve apostles was present in sources that predate the composition of the Book of Revelation. And while there are many scholars who doubt the authenticity of Jesus’ saying concerning Peter the rock, there are many others who rightly defend the authenticity of Jesus’ assertion that the apostles will judge the tribes of Israel. Clearly, then, the sophisticated and sublime apostle symbolism preserved in the Book of Revelation found its way from the Essene world into the Jesus community at the time he established the institution of the twelve apostles. That the symbolism of the twelve found in the writings of a Jewish sect that predates the church then reappears in full force in the Apoc- alypse of John, indicates that the apostles themselves — who knew, of course, of the ideological import of the Essene institution Jesus used as a model — preserved this ideology, which no doubt colored their understanding of their

35. See Y. Yadin, “The Scrolls and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” Scripta Hierosolymitana 4 (1958), 41-53. I want to thank my friend Yigael Yadin for pointing out to me the interesting possibility of a link between the establishment of the twelve apostles and the theology of Hebrews.

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Pesher Isaiah Revelation Other parallels 1. New Jerusalem 1 New Jerusalem The city (Ephesians (chapter 21). 2:19) 2. (a) “And lay your foun- 2. The twelve founda- 2. The apostles as dations with sapphires.” tion stones, upon foundation (Ephesians [Its interpretation:] They which are the names of 2:20). The church is founded the council of the twelve apostles founded on Peter, the the Community, [the] (21:14). rock (Matthew 16:18) priests and the peo[ple. . .] the assembly of his elect, like a sapphire stone in the midst of stones. [“I will make] your pinnacles [of rubies].” Its interpretation concerns the twelve 3....illuminate with the 3. The foundations 3-4 The twelve apostles judgment of the Urim stones and the stones will judge the twelve and the Thummim [. . .] of the Urim and tribes of Israel (Mat- Thummim (21:19-20) thew 19:28; Luke 22:30) 4. “And a[ll] your wall of 4. The names of the precious stones.” Its inter- twelve tribes upon the pretation concerns the twelve gates of the city chiefs of the tribes of (21:12). Israel

own lofty role both in the divine world and in the Jerusalem church. How- ever, the view of the apostles was occasionally frowned upon by their master, Jesus. Thus the gospels record that two of the apostles, James and John the sons of Zebedee (or perhaps their mother), ask Jesus to promise that in the end of days one will be seated to his right and the other to his left (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45). But Jesus answers: “to sit at my right hand and at my left, that is not mine to grant.”Jesus then goes on to say:36 “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-26; Mark 10:41-45; Luke 22:24-27).

36. This may be an independent logion.

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Jesus’ words to the sons of Zebedee echo his other statement (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:29-30) that the twelve apostles will sit on twelve thrones and judge the tribes of Israel.37 However, there is a tension between Jesus’ promise to the apostles and his words to the sons of Zebedee, since the latter suggest that it is not Jesus but God who determines the seating at the eschatological event.38 According to one saying, then, Jesus accepted the originally Essene view that the “twelve” will “illuminate with the judgment of the Urim and the Thummim” when they sit in judgment as the “chiefs of the tribes of Israel.” According to the second, however, this position is rejected. It seems to me that this contradiction does not mean we should reject either of the two statements.39 They are rather the product of the coincidentia oppositorum of humility, on the one hand, and supreme self-awareness, on the other, that characterize the person and the gospel of Jesus. As for this specific issue, it is worth noting that the tension between the two sayings suggests that the lofty eschatological position vouchsafed the members of this institution was already an integral part of the institution when Jesus established it in his own community. This allowed him to assert the eschatological promises to the apostles at one point, and to criticize them at another. Now that Pesher Isaiah has demonstrated that the sublime and complex ideology the Apocalypse of John associates with the twelve apostles, already existed prior to Jesus’ establishment of the apostleship, we must try to determine as best we can the meaning of the institution in the days of Jesus. More precisely, we should ascertain to what extent Jesus accepted the Essene ideology of “the twelve” when he selected his apostles. For we have already seen that Jesus did not always accede to demands his apostles made based on this

37. Both logia refer to the apostles seated in power. As noted above, a comparison of Rev- elation 3:20-21 and Luke 22:29-30 indicates that the eschatological feast belongs to the original stratum of the promise Jesus made to his apostles. The feast is similarly alluded to in Jesus’ words to the sons of Zebedee: “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Mat- thew 20:22; Mark 10:38). 38. See V. Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark (London, 1957), 440. Taylor tries to resolve the difficulty by arguing that the sons of Zebedee wish for the most important of the twelve seats and this is the demand Jesus rejects. This is unconvincing since Jesus’ answer suggests that the very act of seating is not under his control but rather has been determined by God. 39. There is also a contradiction between the demand of the sons of Zebedee (or their mother) that they be seated to the right and left of Jesus and Jesus’ statement to the High Priest that “from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power” (Matthew 26:64; Luke 22:69; and see also Acts 7:55; Hebrews 1:3; Ephesians 1:20). It would, however, be a mistake to seek too much consistency in the use of an apocalyptic motif, especially when the second statement is based on a verse (Psalm 110:1).

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ideology. Moreover, the allusions to this ideology in the gospels are few and far between. There is one statement about Peter as the rock on which the church is to be founded — though the authenticity of this logion (at least in its present form) is dubious. A second, presumably authentic saying involves the lofty status of the apostles in the final judgment. This is a promise involving the eschaton, and lacks the “ecclesiastical” gravitas of the statements in Ephesians and Revelation that portray the apostles as the foundation of the church — statements with clear parallels in Pesher Isaiah. The third statement, the one addressed to the sons of Zebedee, implies a critique of the apostles’ demands concerning the lofty eschatological status promised them in the earlier verse. There is, moreover, no mention in the gospels of a privileged organization status for the twelve apostles. We are told only that they were chosen to be confidants to Jesus, to spread the news of the kingdom of heaven and to heal the sick.40 Does this mean that the apostleship preserved the lofty ideology it inherited from the corresponding Essene institution that served as a model for Jesus, but that Jesus’ non-sectarian approach and deep humility prevented him from accepting this ideology in full? This would be too simplistic an answer, for we have already seen that Jesus contained an admixture of humility with an awareness of the uniqueness of his person and his mission. It is certainly possible that at times he accepted the lofty ideology of the apostleship, other times he rejected it. As for the paucity of information concerning the institution of the apostleship in the gospels, here too we must bear in mind one of the key rules in the study of the synoptic gospels: that the earlier sources tend to emphasize the humility of Jesus’ message, and only rarely his supreme self-awareness. This may be due to the fact that these traditions circulated within the groups that preached his teachings to the Jew- ish masses, who might have rejected a gospel that emphasizes the other, un- usually demanding aspect of Jesus’ thought. It is possible, then, that the institution of the twelve apostles enjoyed a more elevated status in Jesus’ teachings — both organizationally and ideologically — than the gospels allow. Simi- larly, Jesus himself (and not just the apostles) may have adhered to the ideology associated with the corresponding Essene institution, the same ideology that reappears in the Apocalypse of John. Whatever the case, it is clear that even the gospels echo the symbolism and motifs that we find in Pesher Isaiah and Revelation. Even without the dis-

40. The present study is not concerned with a critical examination of the extant information concerning the twelve apostles in Jesus’ lifetime, though this is a desideratum in light of the discovery of Pesher Isaiah. See the important discussion of the apostles following the death of Jesus in Léon-Dufour, Les Evangiles et l’histoire de Jésus (Paris, 1963), 247-248.

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covery of the Scrolls, we might have assumed that Jesus’ statement that Peter is the rock upon which the church is to be founded is tied with the image of the apostles as the foundation stones of the early Christian community. It is very unlikely, however, that we would connect the statement that the apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the end of days, with the tradition (preserved in the Apocalypse of John) that identifies the twelve foundation stones of eschatological Jerusalem with the twelve precious stones of the priestly breastplate, stones that were used in judgment and bore the names of the twelve tribes. Pesher Isaiah, which includes this very tradition, represents a singular contribution to our understanding of the early Christian institution of the twelve apostles. No less important, it demonstrates that the more complicated concept is not always historically subsequent. It was the Apoca- lypse of John that preserved the complex pre-Christian ideology that sheds new light on the simple allusions in the gospels. It appears, then, that in matters of scholarship the simplest explanation is not always the best.

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The new discoveries teach us that, as a rule, scholars must first provide a thorough, grammatical analysis of the synoptic gospels, without any prior assumptions, with the sole goal of understanding the text as it stands. Only then, once this task has been accomplished, may we inquire after its goals and the circumstances surrounding its composition. If we reverse the order and investigate the setting of the gospel composition first, we will most likely not manage to understand the meaning of these texts. The reason scholars tend to reverse the order of investigation is simple: the plain meaning of the gospel text often appears strange and poorly suited to our understanding of early Christianity. Recent discoveries, however, and in particular the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, indicate that the plain sense of the gospels is in no way unreasonable. Quite the contrary — apparently curious statements are the ones that rightly reflect the spiritual and religious views of contemporary Judaism. A striking example of the recent discoveries facilitating the immanent understanding of the gospels is the question of the half-shekel, which is preserved only in Matthew: “When they reached Capernaum the collectors of the half-shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the half- shekel?’ He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’ When Peter said, ‘From others,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish

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that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater; take that and give it to them for you and me” (Matt. 17:24-27). Most scholars believe that this is not an authentic Jesus tradition, but was formed (during the Second Temple period) as part of a polemic within the early church regarding the payment of the half-shekel, and reflects the debate surrounding this issue among Jesus’ followers. If so, it is undoubtedly no coincidence that the tax collectors address their question to Peter, the leader of the Jerusalem Church following the death of Jesus. In the Matthew story, the question of whether to pay the half-shekel is resolved by Jesus himself, thus establishing the position that the tax ought to be paid “so that we do not give offense to them.”1 But it appears the pro-payment view was so unpalat- able in the Jerusalem Church that even its attribution to Jesus was not sufficient: the very heavens had to miraculously testify to this effect, so that the money did not come from Jesus and his disciples, but from the coin discovered in the fish! But while modern scholarship has rightly argued that the story of the half-shekel is the product of a Second Temple dispute within the Jerusalem Church, we cannot accept the same scholars’ view as to the meaning of Jesus’ conversation with Peter in this very story. These scholars assume that the “children of kings” in Jesus’ parable refer to the Christians, while the others, who are obligated to pay the toll, are the Jews. It is certainly possible that this is how the author of Matthew understood the story, for it is only in this gospel that we find an explicit statement to the effect that the Kingdom of God was taken from Israel and given to the church (Matt. 21:43), and that in the end of days, “the heirs of the kingdom [= Israel] will be thrown into the outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12). But this interpretation is untenable. That the parable portrays the Christians as exempt from the half-shekel payment because they are children of God is clear enough. But how can we assume that the parable argues that Israel must pay the half-shekel because they are “others” who are enslaved to the king of kings who resides in the temple? On this interpretation the temple is the sanctuary of God and the half-shekel is the toll to God, but Israel is denigrated as a nation that is essentially foreign to God. Such an interpretation could only be right if we assume a view that affirms the sanctity of the temple but denies the election of Israel. But since there is no evidence for such an odd doctrine within the early church, there is no justification for the standard interpretation of the half-shekel parable — assuming the Matthew parable is not terribly corrupt. If, however, we ignore the historical circumstances that gave rise to the

1. See R. Bultmann, Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition (Göttingen, 1957), 34-35.

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parable, and concentrate solely on the text as it stands, it is quite clear: this is perhaps the closest of the gospel parables to the rabbinic parables, meshalim, that open with the phrase, “a parable concerning a king of flesh and blood.” Even the phrase “kings of the earth” is the biblical equivalent to the rabbinic “king of flesh and blood,” and both phrases point to the parallels that exist between terrestrial kings and their heavenly counterpart. As a rule, the rabbinic parables represent Israel with the figure of the son of the “king of flesh and blood” — and in Matthew too we find the kings of the earth and their sons.2 Thus the most probable view is that in the Matthew parable too the sons of the king symbolize Israel. This interpretation resolves the key difficulty of the standard reading, i.e., attributing to the parable a positive valorization of the temple, but a negative view of Israel. All the same, interpreting the Matthew parable in the spirit of the rabbinic mashal raises new difficulties, particularly the position it seems to espouse: just as the children of earthly kings are not taxed by their fathers, so too the King of Kings, who resides in the Jerusalem temple, ought not demand that Israel pay him the annual half-shekel tax. What we have here, then, is a polemic against the collection of the temple tax from the Jews — couched in terms of the traditional “parable of a flesh and blood king” genre! It thus appears to me that the immanent interpretation of this parable, namely that the children are Israel, can only be accepted if we can assume that there were parties contemporary with the composition of the Matthew parable who objected to the half-shekel payment to the temple. If such parties existed, we may conclude that the Jerusalem Church adopted the same view, at least in principle, and that the story in question was created as part of the debate surrounding this question. Scholarship into the origins of the half-shekel tax has dealt with this question, though without any effect on the understanding of the Matthew parable. One conclusion is that the Boethusians op-

2. The rabbinic parables usually speak of a king of flesh and blood and his son, or even his only son, while Matthew speaks of the kings of the earth and their sons (both in the plural form). It may be, then, that the Matthew parable too intended to speak of a king and his son. Many scholars interpret the “sons” in the parable as referring not to sons proper, or even those subjects of the king who are exempt from taxes, but rather to foreigners (see E. Klostermann, Das Matthäusevangelium [Tübingen, 1927], 146; W. C. Allen, The Gospel According to St. Mat- thew [London, 1915]). This is also the view reflected in the translation of The New English Bible (Oxford, 1961). It is true that the parable can be coherently interpreted if we assume it distinguishes between the subjects of the king, who are exempt from the head tax (k«nsov), and the foreigners, i.e., citizens of lands conquered by the king who must pay the tax. However, “the son of the king” is a stock character in rabbinic parables, and so it appears that the Matthew parable conflates the traditional view of the king and his son, on the one hand, and the contrast between the king’s subjects and the people of lands conquered by him, on the other.

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posed the half-shekel payment,3 while E. Bickerman’s analysis of Second Temple documents indicates the half-shekel tax is an ordinance formulated by the Hasmonean priests.4 The next step was taken by Y. Livor, who argues that the half-shekel pericope in Exodus 30:11-16 does not refer to an annual temple tax, but rather to a ransom payment for those that are absent.5 “The annual monetary contribution to the temple . . . was not made mandatory until the late Hasmonean period, if not later.”6 Already these findings — that the half-shekel contribution was a relatively late innovation that was not uni- versally accepted — might suggest that the half-shekel debate in Matthew echoes the opposing voices of those Jewish groups that argued that the new decree of an annual temple tax has no scriptural basis. A fragment of Qumran halakhah, published by Allegro7 and analyzed in detail by Livor,8 sheds new light on the question. From it we learn that the Boethusians were not the only group that opposed the annual half-shekel temple tax;9 the Qumran community also expressed their opposition to this tax: “Concerning the ransom: the money of valuation which one gives as ransom for his own person will be half [a shekel], only once will he give it in all his days” (4Q159 Fragment 1.6-7).10 The above investigation has shown, then, that the half-shekel tax was a Hasmonean innovation that was opposed by the Boethusians, thus removing the main objection to the notion that the Matthew parable reflects some (admittedly qualified) opposition to Israel — and not just the Christian community — paying the half-shekel. The 4QOrdinances fragment not only strengthens this assertion, but aids in interpreting the Matthew parable as well.11 It seems that Livor was right: “The emphatic ‘only once will he give it in all his

3. See H. Lichtenstein, Die Fastenrolle, in HUCA 8-9 (1931-32), 290-292, 323. 4. E. Bickerman, Annuaire de l’Institut de Philologie et d’Histoire Orientales et Slaves 7 (1939-1944), 14. 5. Y. Livor, “The Half-shekel Pericope” (Hebrew), The Yehezkel Kaufman Festschrift (Jeru- salem, 1961), 54-67. 6. Livor, “The Half-shekel Pericope,” 67. 7. J. M. Allegro, “An Unpublished Fragment of Essene Halakhah (4QOrdinances),” JSS 6 (1961), 71-73. 8. Livor, “The Half-shekel in the Dead Sea Scrolls” (Hebrew), Tarbiz 31 (1962), 18-22. 9. The Ta{anit Scroll speaks of the Boethusians, while b. Menahot 65a refers to the Tzedukim (Sadducees); it seems to me the former is to be preferred. 10. That the Qumran community is Essene is widely accepted among scholars. The question now arises whether the opposition to the half-shekel tax — shared by the Qumranites and the Boethusians — does not support the argument put forward by Grintz identifying these two groups. See Y. M. Grintz, “The People of the Yahad — Essenes — Beith (E)ssene,” Sinai 32 (1953), 11-43. This is not an issue to be explored in the present study. 11. Allegro (“An Unpublished Fragment,” 73) has noted the similarity between the Mat- thew parable about the half-shekel and the statement of 4QOrdinances.

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days,’ which has no scriptural basis, expresses opposition to the annual half- shekel temple tax. The sages sought to link this tax to the biblical half-shekel, but the Dead Sea community opposed the annual temple tax from the outset.”12 To be sure, Matthew’s gospel does not argue that Jews are to pay the half-shekel only once in the course of their lifetime, but like the Qumran authors it expresses opposition to the half-shekel as a fixed annual tax. After all, the Matthew parable likens the payment to a k«nsov (Latin: census),13 and there are in fact a number of similarities between the Roman tax and the half- shekel payment: both are preceded by a census, and both are paid annually. There is, however, one fundamental difference between the shekel payment and the census: the former is a payment by Israel to their temple in Jerusalem, while the latter is a sign that Israel has been enslaved to Rome and their ruler is not their true king, for God alone is the true king of Israel. As one rabbinic source states: “I shall not appoint nor delegate anyone else, so to speak, to rule over you, but I myself will rule over you.”14 This view, applied inflexibly to the contemporary political situation, famously gave rise to the Zealot movement. Already their founder, Judah the Galilean, demanded that the Jews not pay the annual tax to Rome and refuse to accept the rule of a king of flesh and blood, but only of the God of Israel.15 And what was the tax that instigated the Zealot movement? The census, the annual payment Rome required not of its sons, but of conquered foreigners.16 According to Cicero, this tax was a wage for victory and a punishment for the war itself.17 Clearly, Israel as a whole and the Zealots in particular were opposed to the Roman census. But when Jesus was asked about this tax he gave his famous answer: “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). Jesus’ answer is politically moderate and in this sense stands in contrast to the “king of flesh and blood” parable in Matthew. After all, if the key element of the latter is that the kings collect the tax from strangers but not from their sons, the impli- cation is that the census is viewed with a dim eye indeed. Here, then, is another argument against counting the half-shekel parable among the authentic sayings of Jesus, whose position was apparently much more conciliatory.

12. Livor, “The Half-shekel in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 21. 13. Indeed, there are scholars who hold that the Matthew parable was originally a polemic aimed at the Roman census collection. See H. Loewe, Render Unto Caesar (Cambridge, 1940), 66-67. 14. Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, translated by Jacob Lauterbach (Philadelphia, 1933), 2.204. 15. Josephus, BJ 2.118, and see M. Hengel, Die Zeloten (Leiden, 1961), 93-103. 16. See Hengel, Die Zeloten, 132-145. 17. Cicero, Second Oration Against Verres (3.12); and see V. A. Tcherikover, Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (Cambridge, 1957), 1.60.

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Be all that as it may, the Matthew parable expresses opposition to the payment of the half-shekel, adopting a position similar to that of the Boethusians and the Qumran community. The argument against the tax goes as follows: the annual tax to the temple cannot be just, since the king of Israel — God who resides in the temple — would not impose on his sons a tax that the earthly kings impose on foreigners. I do not find this parable in any way typical of the Christian attitude toward Judaism and toward the temple. The question, then, is: in what Jewish circles did it originate? Clearly not among the rabbinic sages, since they affirmed that half-shekel payment and considered it a biblically sanctioned commandment. The spirit of the parable is similar to that of the Zealots, who opposed the census on the grounds that it implied Is- rael’s submission to an earthly king. However, there is no evidence that the Zealots transferred this argument to the payment of the half-shekel, or that they even opposed the temple tax. The Qumran scrolls, in contrast, indicate that the Essenes claimed that each Jew should pay the half-shekel “only once in all his days.”As noted, this suggests the opposition was to the establishment of the half-shekel payment as an annual tax, much like the gospel position. It is possible, then, that there were some among the Essenes who based their claims against the half-shekel tax on an ideology of God’s kingship over Israel, an ideology known particularly from the Zealots.18 That the half-shekel parable in Matthew is of Essene or related origin is suggested by the fact that the Jerusalem Church (where the parable was apparently formulated) inherited two social-religious positions from the Essenes: baptism and shared property. It may well be that along with these they also inherited the critique of the half-shekel payment. If so, the next question is whether the opposition expressed in the half-shekel parable was theoretical19 — that is, the church continued to pay the tax to “not give offense to them” — or whether the practical resistance to the payment was also part of the Essene heritage. In fact, it appears the Jerusalem Church could not actively resist the temple tax, since it congregated at Solomon’s Portico20 and regularly visited the temple;21 had they refused to pay the half-shekel they would undoubtedly

18. The question of the sages’ ideological commitment to the kingdom of heaven, and its bearing on the question of Roman taxation, lies beyond the purview of the present study; I hope to take up this important question elsewhere. 19. Bultmann (Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition, 34) argues that Matthew 17:22- 26 appears early, and further suggests it originally referred to a different matter. I believe the latter suggestion is untenable since the publication of 4QOrdinances. 20. See Acts 3:11; 5:12, and compare the Gospel of John 10:23. 21. See Acts 2:46. For a comprehensive survey, see H. Lietzmann, Geschichte der alten Kirche (Berlin, 1953), 1.54.

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not be able to remain in these sites. It is possible, then, that the early church received from their forerunners only the parable and its implicit resistance to the temple tax, but added to it Jesus’ moderate position and then invented the miraculous fish story. Still, I believe it is far more likely that the Christians received the moderate position as well from the Essenes. After all, the apparent rejection of radical principles was one of the key elements in the Essene Welt- anschauung. Indeed, acquiescence to the political authorities was typical of their “conditional pacifism,”22 which espoused “Everlasting hatred for the men of the pit in clandestine spirit. To them he should leave goods and handmade items like a servant to his master and like one oppressed by someone domineering him.”23 Note that when the tax collectors asked John the Baptist, who was close to the Essenes, what to do, he answered: “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (Luke 3:12-13). In practical terms, he recognized the status of tax collectors working on behalf of Rome. The acquiescence to the political authorities in the matter of the temple tax could have similarly been inherited from the Essenes or from the disciples of John the Baptist. In summary, it is customary to explain Matthew’s half-shekel parable as if it indicates that the Christians are exempt from the temple tax — since they are the children of God — while the Jews, who are strangers, must pay it. How- ever, this interpretation raises a number of internal difficulties. Comparison to the rabbinic parable, the mashal, suggests that the children of the king are Is- rael, not the Christians. It appears, then, that the parable and its interpretation originate in the Jewish circles that opposed the half-shekel tax, viewing it as an innovation that has no scriptural basis. Up to this point we knew only that the Boethusians espoused this view, but the recently published Qumran text indicates that this was also the view of the Essene Dead Sea community, who held that Jews must pay the half-shekel tax only once in the course of their lives. Thus there is no reason to reject the simpler interpretation of Matthew 17 and identify the sons of the king with Israel. The conversation between Jesus and Peter suggests that the half-shekel ought not be paid since it is similar to the taxes the kings of Rome impose on the nations it has enslaved — while the Jews are not slaves to God, but rather God’s children. Even though the political notion of God’s kingship over Israel that is reflected in Matthew is associated primarily with the Zealots, it appears that the parable originated in Essene or proximate circles. Moreover it seems that the Christians inherited from these circles not only the idea of a theoretical resistance to the half-shekel temple tax, but also the principle of practical acquiescence.

22. See “The Dead Sea Sect and Its Worldview.” 23. 1QS 9.21-23; see also Josephus, BJ 2.140.

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Index of Names

Abraham, 39, 210, 272, 314 David, King, 264-65, 266-67, 268, 271, 272- Adam and Eve, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59 73, 274, 276-81, 282 Agrippa, 202 David ben Zimra, Rabbi, 57 Albright, W. F., 50 Davies, W. D., 294 Alexander Jannaeus, 4, 81, 99, 101, 102, Demetrius (king of Illyria), 201 170, 171, 172, 179, 182, 218, 220, 222, 223, Demetrius Eucaerus (king of Syria), 5, 81, 230 155, 172, 178, 220 Allegro, J. M., 255-56, 305, 330 Dupont-Sommer, A., 141, 147, 225, 231, Amir, Y., 139 234, 237 Amram, Rabbi, 270 Dürrenmatt, Friedrich, 205 Amusin, J. D., 161, 225 Antigonos of Socho, 95 Elazar of Modi{in, Rabbi, 208 Antiochus III, 176, 203 Elazar, Rabbi, 56 Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), 144 Eliezer, Rabbi, 82 Aqiva, Rabbi, 26, 27, 64, 72, 74, 133 Elijah, 30, 212, 213 Aristobolus I, 180, 182, 184 Epiphanius, 87, 88 Aristobolus II, 186, 225, 232, 234 Eshel, Esther, 37 Aristotle, 125 Eumenes (king of Pergamum), 202, 203 Augustus, 199 Eusebius, 30

Benoît, P., 283 Fleischer, E., 70-71, 132, 133 Bickerman, E., 330 France, Anatole, 49 Bultmann, R., 318 Friedmann, Meir, 212-13

Calvin, John, 30 Gamaliel, Rabban, 70, 100 Carneades, 126 Grintz, Y., 149, 330 Clement of Rome, 95, 313 Cross, Frank Moore, 37, 222 Hama bar Hanina, 205

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Hanina, Rabbi, 56 Lieberman, Saul, 92, 93, 114 Hannibal, 176 Livor, Y., 330 Harkavy, A. E., 258, 264 Heinemann, J., 139 Mar Zutra, 285 Herod, 4, 100, 196, 224, 234 Mattathias (Hasmonean), 44, 182 Hillel the Elder, 53, 59, 95, 100, 272 Medea, 125 Hiya bar Abba, 157 Meir, Rabbi, 64 Honi ben Elazar, 37 Melchizedek, 31, 249, 273 Honi the Circle Drawer, 102 Menahem the Essene, 296 Hyrcanus II, 231, 234 Michael (angel), 2, 62-63, 291-92 Milik, J. T., 241, 200 Ibn Ezra, Abraham, 64 Milikowsky, C., 76 Isaac, 210 Mithridates (king of Pontus), 177, 201-2 Isaac, Rabbi, 205, 280 Moses, 50, 51, 52, 53-54, 64, 273, 292 Ishmael, Rabbi, 96 Naqdimon ben Gurion, 100 Jacob, 210-11 Noah, 39

James (son of Zebedee), 323 Origen, 180 Jerome, 87, 88 Ovid, 125, 206 Jesus, xii, 7, 8, 13, 30, 31, 39, 41, 67, 69, 74- 75, 76, 78, 100, 101, 102-3, 112, 218, 273, Paul, xiii, 73, 100, 254, 299, 301, 302-4 278-79, 280, 313, 314, 316-17, 320-21, 323- Perseus, 202, 203 25 Peter, 315 John (son of Zebedee), 323 Pharaoh, 39 John Hyrcanus, 4, 30, 172, 178, 180, 181, Philip (of Macedon), 202, 203 182, 182 Plato, 21, 125, 288 John of Patmos, 311 Pompeius Trogus, 201 John the Baptist, xiii, 29, 31, 321 Pompey, 177, 178 John the Essene, 14 Porphyry, 144 Jonathan (Hasmonean), 179, 182 Puech, Emile, 66, 67 Josephus Flavius, 97, 299, 302 Judah Iscariot, 320 Raphael the Healer, 39 Judah Maccabee, 173, 177, 179, 180-81, 194 Rashi, 63, 64 Judah the Essene, 296 Judah the Galilean, 331 Saadia Gaon, 85, 87, 88, 108, 270 Jugurtha, 201 Safrai, Shmuel, 112, 113, 117, 171 Julius Caesar, 141, 201 Salome, Queen, 99, 223, 232, 233, 234, 248, Justin Martyr, 87, 88 254 Samuel (prophet), 282 Kaufmann, Yehezkel, 62, 117 Sanders, J., 265, 266 Kohler, K., 108 Sarai, 39 Seligman, Yitzhak Aryeh, 4, 5 Lactantius, 149, 166 Sennacherib, 163 Lessing, G. E., 235 Shammai, 100, 272 Levi, Rabbi, 54 Shemesh, A., 293, 294 Licht, J., 44, 159, 197, 294-95, 297 Shimon bar Yohai, 270

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INDEX OF NAMES

Shimon ben Gamaliel, 100 Werman, K., 293, 294 Shimon ben Shetah, 99 Shimon ha-Pakuli, 113 Yadin, Yigael, 33, 58, 62, 81, 141-42, 146, Shmuel the Lesser, 91, 93, 114, 115 147, 149, 152, 155-56, 157, 219, 224, 305, Simon (Hasmonean), 30, 178, 179-80, 183 306, 310 Simon Magus, 49 Yehiel of Rome, 98 Simon the Essene, 296 Yehoshua, Rabbi, 117, 118 Socrates, 125 Yehudah ben Yaqqar, 69, 89 Stendhal, Krister, 302 Yohanan, Rabbi, 56, 80 Sukenik, E. L., 156 Yohanan ben Nuri, 133, 138 Tacitus, 201 Yohanan ben Zakkai, 272, 314 Taylor, V., 324 Yonathan, Rabbi, 80 Tigranes (king of Armenia), 5, 154 Yose, Rabbi, 274 Timotheos, 265 Yosef ben Qisma, Rabbi, 269

Urbach, E. E., 258 Zundil, Enoch, 136

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Index of Subjects

“according to the law of Moses and Is- baptism, 332 rael,” 50-54 of the spirit, 44, 48 activism, the Essenes’ bellicose, 11-12, 13- Belial, Prince of Depravity, 2, 23, 28, 33. 14 See also Satan Amidah prayer (Shemoneh Esreh), 90, 92, Bethel, 210 108-13, 116. See also Birkat ha-Minim Birkat ha-Minim, 70, 83, 84-94, 114-15, 118. Benediction of Mighty Deeds, 68, 69, See also Amidah 111 as combination of two prayers, 90-94, Benediction of Redemption, 112 114-15 Benediction of the Righteous, 108-9 written against the Essenes, 106, 109, Benediction for Jerusalem, 111, 279 116 High Holiday, 132-34, 135-36, 137 Bithynia, 178 history of, 112, 113-15 Boethusians, 96, 329-30 Palestinian version, 86, 87, 88, 108-9 “born of sin,” 128, 130-31, 132 “Return our judges,” 108, 109, 110 Ammon, 143, 145, 146 building imagery, 306, 307, 310, 317, 321 antichrist, 130, 168 building of Jerusalem, 110, 111, 113, 306 anti-imperialism, 194, 197, 198 Apocalypse of Peter, 77 Carthage, 202 Apocalyptic doctrine, 10-12. See also End census, 331 of Days Christians and Christianity, 67, 253 apostates, 76, 77, 78, 85 attitude to the physical world, 245 apostles, the twelve, 305, 309, 311, 312-26 attitude to the secular authorities, 299- asceticism, 7 304, 326-33 Asia (Roman province), 178 building analogy, 316 Assyria, 144, 145, 146, 148-50 early, 8, 11, 30, 253, 279, 305, 327-33 Essene influence on early, xiii, 24, 31, Babylonia, 133 35, 249, 250, 253-54

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INDEX OF SUBJECTS

and flesh-spirit dualism, 283, 284, 285- existence of, 33, 42, 43, 46, 48. 86, 289-90 See also man as heretics, 78, 87-88, 96, 116 exorcism, 38 Jerusalem as symbol of, 247, 248, 250, 313 flesh, the, 20, 284, 285-86, 290-91 Judaism, 251, 254 free will, 26, 32 the twelve apostles, 305, 309, 311, 312-26 man’s election through divine grace, Community council, 307, 308, 309 19, 21, 22, 24, 285, 290 Corinth, 178 freedom of Jewish interpreters, 235

Damascus, xii, 221, 222, 227 Genizah, Antonine Collection of the, 258 diaspora, 173, 174, 222 Genizah, Cairo, xii, 84, 122, 258, 265 divine providence, 33 Gnostics and Gnosticism, 21, 40, 48-49, dualism, 2, 26, 28, 33 283, 284, 287, 291 God’s curse, 82 Ebionites, 6, 30, 85 “God’s sword,” 151, 153, 156, 157, 158, 163, Edom, 143, 144, 145, 146, 205 164, 165, 167, 168 End of Days, xiii, 10-11, 31, 30, 310. See godless, the, 77, 78, 80, 88 also messiah Greece, 176-77, 184, 191 abolition of evil, 2, 10, 33, 40, 42, 43, Greeks, 5, 40, 140, 149 154, 155, 170, 181, 46, 47, 122, 123, 124-25, 129, 130, 132, 184, 191, 193 134, 135, 136, 137, 243, 300, 301 groom’s blessing, 51, 52, 56-57, 58-59 death of the evil king, 147-48, 150, 151, 152, 160-69 half-shekel, payment of, 327-33 eschatological temple, 208-11 hanging, 82 the high priest at the end of days, 30- Hasmonean family, 178-81, 182, 186 31 ties with the Romans, 178 Israel’s hope for, 110, 113, 207-8 hell as vengeance, 151, 195-96 evildoers condemned forever to, 71, 74, war at, 4, 11, 33, 141-42, 145-58 75, 76-77, 83, 89, 98, 115 Ephraim and Manasseh, 224-25, 229, 231, and those who separated themselves 246, 252, 254 from the community, 71-73, 80, 84, eschatology. See End of Days 89, 97, 115 Essene, 20-21, 123, 124, 284-85, 286, 289- and the wicked, 71-72, 73-75 90, 291 heretics, 71, 77 eternal life, 183 historians, 175 ethical dualism of the Essenes (sons of history, sequencing eras, 197, 301 light, sons of darkness), 9, 10, 11-12, 19, Holon, 51 104, 243, 275, 285, 286 Holy Spirit, 285, 286, 288, 289, 290 Christian flesh-spirit, 283, 284, 285-86, hospitality, 303 290-91 human nature. See mankind flesh-spirit, 283, 284, 286-87, 291 Hussites, 13, 35 evil and evil persons, 315 hypocrites. See godless destined for hell, 71, 72, 74 destroyed at End of Days, 2, 10, 33, 40, immortality of the soul, 67 42, 43, 46, 122, 123, 124, 128, 130, 132, incantations, 39 134, 136, 137, 300, 301 informers, 71, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 86-87, 88

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Index of Subjects

ingathering of the exiles, 110, 113, 172-73 inherently sinful, 20-21, 22, 292 Instructor (maskil), 297, 300, 303 marriage, 50, 51-54 Interpreter of the Law, xii marriage contract, Jewish (ketubah), 50, Israel divided into three major groups, 52-54 109, 116, 215, 235, 246, 254 marriage contract, Samaritan, 52, 54 Iyar, 264, 267 matter dualism of matter-spirit, 283, 287, 291 Jericho, 37 positive attitude to the material world Jerusalem, 4, 146-47, 158, 173, 174, 177, 225, among the Essenes, 284-85 237, 250, 255 “May the apostates have no hope,” 84, 85, building of, 110, 111, 113 86, 89, 97, 115 Christians’ identification with, 247-48, medicinal plants, 39-40 249, 250, 252, 313 medicine, 38-39 eschatological, 208, 236, 247, 249, 251, Megillat Ta}anit, 109, 269, 330 306, 308, 311, 313 messiah, 11, 30, 31, 110-11, 322 Essenes’ identification with, 236-37, belief in three messiahs, 30, 281 240, 246, 248, 254 “birth pangs” of the, 131 heavenly, 250 and Jesus, 31, 280 twelve gates of, 306-7, 311, 319 in Jewish belief, 274, 280 Jesus, 7, 30, 69, 78, 112, 273, 279, 313, 314, King David, 277-79, 280-81 316-17, 320-21, 323-25 messianic era, 213 and criticism of the Pharisees, 100, 101, son of David, 30, 160, 162, 164 102-3, 218 minim (heretics), 71, 76, 77, 83, 96, 114, and the Essenes, xii, 8, 13 118. See also Birkat ha-Minim as a healer, 39, 41 mistake (mishgeh), 272 as messiah, 278-79, 280 Moab, 143, 145, 146 messianic awareness of, 31 morality, 175 and resurrection, 67 “mysteries of sin,” 121, 123, 128, 129, 130, on those condemned to hell, 74-75, 76 131 Judah, house of, 227, 228, 235, 236, 246, 252, 254, 256 natural law, 126 “new covenant,” 17, 222, 249, 250, 252-53 Karaites, 98 Noahide commandments, 88 ketubah. See marriage contract “Not by an angel,” 61-65 kibbutzim, 35 Kittim, 4-5, 140-42, 144, 145, 161-62, 187-90 Oracle of Hystaspes, 149, 151, 157, 164, 165- of Assyria, 148-50 66, 167, 168

language and orthography of Qumran pacifism, Essene, 14, 15, 24, 196, 238, 295, scrolls, xii, xiii 301, 302, 333 Lebanon, 159, 161, 162, 164, 239 pacifism, Christian, 11 “pattern of the human form,” the, 56-57 Macedonia, 178 Pergamum, 178 Mandeans, 276 persecution of the Essenes, 9-10, 220-21, mankind 226-27, 223, 232, 234 fundamentally good but commits evils, Pharisees 123-25, 206 as enemy of the Essenes, 222-23, 231-32

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as Ephraim, 224, 229, 232, 236, 239, 246 Qaddish, 271 Essenes anticipating the fall of the, 234, 235-36, 239, 243, 245 religious ferment among the Essenes, 1, 3 Essenes’ attitude toward, 218-19, 232, repentance, 74, 86, 243, 244 237-38, 243-44, 256-57 resurrection, 66-67, 69, 112, 182 father of rabbinic Judaism, 33, 108, denial of the idea of, 71, 77, 95 109-10, 172, 215, 242, 252 revelation, divine ongoing, 295 identified as Nineveh, 236, 237, 246 revolt of the angels, 49 image as hypocrites, 100-103, 218, 220, ritual purity, 36 232 rituals of purification, 17, 105, 107 influence of, 233, 234, 243 Roman, 5 14, 140-41, 161 as separated from the community, 73, anti-Roman ideology, 37, 89, 115, 135, 76, 77, 80, 82, 84, 89-90, 95, 96, 105, 161, 176, 187, 188-89, 190-92, 193-94, 114, 115-16, 117-18. See also separatism 199-203, 204-5, 206 of the Essenes praise of, 181, 183-86, 187, 189, 191-94, teachings of the, 33, 36, 66, 69, 183, 252 202, 205-6 term perushim for sages and their rise of the empire, 177 companions, 93, 94-95, 97-100 term with dual meaning, 223, 232-33 Sadducees, 33, 36, 99, 108, 116, 180, 186, Philistia, 143, 144, 145 215, 223, 238 philosophy, Greek identification with Amon, 236, 237, 246 dualism of matter-flesh, 284, 287 as Manasseh, 224, 225, 229, 230, 231, influence on Judean desert sect, 120, 233, 236, 238, 246 122, 126-27, 206 teachings of the, 33, 95, 108, 109, 182-83 Satan, 291-92. See also Belial tension in mankind between good in- secret things, 293, 294, 297 tention and evil deeds, 124-27 Seleucids, 148, 154 pillars, 272, 314, 318 separatism of the Essenes and their hos- poverty, idealization of, 7, 8, 36, 195 tility to other groups in society, 7-8, 16, power, intensification of, 181, 185, 186, 194, 24, 33-34, 36, 103-7, 116, 117, 196, 225-26, 202, 206 243, 252, 254, 296 prayer, 60, 70, 112-14, 117-18, 132-33, 270 hope that in the end many Jews will predestination, 2, 13, 14, 22, 294, 298, 299, join the sect, 243-45 301, 302 seven blessings (at Jewish wedding cere- double, 13-14, 15, 26, 28, 33, 198, 243 mony), 54 and mankind’s election through divine simple folk, 239-41 grace, 19, 21, 22, 24, 285, 290 of Ephraim, 240, 242, 245 priests and priesthood, 310, 321 of Judah, 22, 228, 239, 241, 242 among Essenes, 34-35, 36, 195, 303 Sinai, theophany at, 17, 206, 251, 253, 268 among followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, Son of Man, 23 37 Spain, 192, 193 high priest of the end of days, 30-31 Stoa, 126-27 property and wealth, shared, 34, 332 stone symbolism, 312, 314 status among the Essenes, 5, 18, 30 stones of the priestly breastplace, 306, Wicked Priest, 4, 10, 41, 222, 223, 225, 307, 308, 319, 326 230, 231, 234, 237 submission to the outside world, 301, 302, prophecy and prophets, 122-23, 138, 295 303

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Index of Subjects

Syria, 19, 149, 154, 187 true Israel, 16, 245, 252 truth, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47 Tabor (city), 35 world truth, 43, 44-45, 46-48, 49 Teacher of Righteousness, 6, 41, 220, 223, “Truthful Judge,” 121 228, 231-32, 234, 257, 296, 297 “The Two Ways,” 25-27, 28, 29 Temple, the, 17-18, 105, 173, 178-79, 210-11, 212 United States, 35 according to the Essenes, 208-9, 211, 312 and damage to the zevul, 75-76, 81, 83 “wicked kingdom,” 89, 90-91, 134-35 of the End of Days, 208-10, 211-12 “will not return,” 121, 122, 138 songs sung before the altar, 267, 268 “that all was made through His word,” Yavne, 87, 91, 94 121 theology, Essene, xiii, 26, 33-34, 296, 301 Zealots, 331

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HEBREW BIBLE 21:10 52 32:8-9 62, 76 22:28 96 33:8 310 Genesis 24:17 268 1:26 55 28:17-21 306, 312 1 Samuel 1:26-27 55 30:11-16 329 2:7-8 269 1:26-28 28 32:34 64 16:11 273 2:7 55 33:14 64 22:14 274 2:22 55, 70 33:14-15 64 22:51 293 6:2 39 34:9 64 6:3 20 2 Samuel 6:12 20 Leviticus 22:41 269 9:6 59 11:47 275 22:51 265, 279 10:22 148 19:18 96 23:1 265 12:17 39 26:9 252 21:13-15 210 1 Kings 28:17 210 Numbers 1:37 270 28:18 312, 326 12:3 274 1:47 270 35:6-7 210 12:7 274 7:21 272 43:12 272 15:30-31 73, 74, 76 8:13 72, 272 49:24 312 16:15 118 24:23-24 149 Isaiah Exodus 24:24 5, 140 1:16 19 3:12 121 1:26 108 14 163 Deuteronomy 2:18 270, 274 14:30-31 164 7:26 107 5:7 240 14:31 152, 163 21:22-23 82, 96 5:24 222 15:17 208 29:29 293, 294 7:9 240 16:25 208 32:4 123 7:16 275

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7:17 227, 229 65:17 208 Habakkuk 8:11 105, 106, 107, 116, 66:23 71, 72 1:4 41, 42, 43, 45 226 66:24 72 1:10 188, 191 8:14 227 1:16 189 9:19-20 229 Jeremiah 2:2 296 10:32 161 11:20 271 2:8 238 10:33 162 12:4 188 2:12 237 10:33-34 161 17:10 270 2:12-13 237 10:34 161, 162, 164 30:8-9 278 2:17 161, 239 10:34–11:1 159, 161 30:9 279 11:3 229 31:31 249 Zechariah 23:12-13 149 31:32 253 2:6 172 26:10 205 32:19 270 11:4 270, 275 30:6 132 50:31-32 89 11:7 270, 275 30:10 256 31:8 144, 150, 151, 156 Ezekiel Malachi 33:14 80 13:8-12 221 3:21 71 40:3 105, 226, 296, 297 13:10 102 3:24 LXX 213 42:1 42 27:6 149 42:1-3 43 34:23-24 278 Psalms 42:1-4 42 36:25 19 1:1 105 42:2 41 37:9 172 2:7 280 42:3 41, 42, 43 2:10 120 37:23 105 42:4 41, 42 5:6 269 37:24 278 42:6 267 8:5 273 38:23 271 43:18 121 9:5 271 44:9 6 44:13 56 9:17 78 44:10 105 45:23 121 12:2 219 48:31 306 49:6 267 16 280 48:31-34 311, 312 50:21-22 135 18:41 269 51:1 312 18:50 279 52:7 236, 249 Hosea 18:51 265 52:13 273, 274 2:10 100 32:1 134 54:11-12 236, 246, 248, 305, 5:14 230 33:20 134 312 37 44 54:12 307, 311 Micah 37:7 256 55:2 119 1:5 240, 241 37:10 183 55:3 278, 280 1:6 240 37:11 10 55:11 121 37:14-15 231 58:12 270 Nahum 37:20 134, 137 59:5 132 1:3-4 161, 255 37:22 82, 196 60:22 268 1:4 198 37:35-36 183 63 64 3:1 237 41:14 268 63:8-9 63, 64 3:6-7 238 45:2 257 63:8-9 LXX 62, 63 3:8 236 49:15 72 63:9 63, 65 3:9 236 49:15 LXX 76 63:15 22 3:11 236 51:10 274

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56:5 20 Lamentations 4.24 181 59:17 270 2:3 147 5.62 179 72:18-19 268 5.66 144 78:39 20 Esther 5.68 144 79:2-3 255 3:1 270 7.41 163 82:1 249 8.1 193 83:7-9 144 Daniel 8.1-2 189 89 265 1:44 147 8.1-16 181, 183-85, 187 89:30-31 278 7:22 319 8.2 192, 193 89:41 270 8:25 151 8.3 192, 193 89:47 265 11:30 5, 140 8.4 189, 191, 193, 202 91:1 267 11:32-34 219 8.5 5, 140 91:9 267 11:32 80, 144 8.7 192, 193 11:34 179 8.9-10 191, 193 102:3 134 11:40 144, 145, 148, 160 8.10 181, 189, 190 106:48 268 11:41 146 8.12 190, 192, 193 107:34 188 11:41-45 143 8.14-16 193 107:42 134 11:42 144 8.15 190 110:1 324 11:42-43 148 8.16 190 116:6 8 11:44 147, 148, 156 12.13-16 182 118 312, 316 11:44-45 150 13.29 183 118:22 272, 316 11:45 151, 162, 163 13.42 180 119:72 269 12:1 143 14.35 180 132 265 14.38-40 178 132:9 134 1 Chronicles 14.41 30, 139, 180 132:12 56 22:9 270 14.47 180 139:21-22 96, 97 16.23 183 146:6 183 146:10 270 APOCRYPHA 2 Maccabees 178 147:2 110 1.1-21 173 147:3 275 4 Ezra 208, 211, 251 1.10 173 7.26 247 1.18 173 Job 9.38–10.28 247 2.8 173 5:16 134 10.40-49 247 2.16-18 173, 179, 182 12:10 270 11.40 204 3.6 173 20:16 132 11.40-44 203-4 8.19 163 22:19 134 11.42 204 38:17-19 131 3 Maccabees 1 Maccabees 178, 180, 182 6.5 163 1.1 5, 140 Proverbs 1.10 181 Ben Sira, Wisdom of 274 10:25 272 2.51 182 3.21-24 293 25:21-22 302 2.62-63 183 16.6 79 3.7 183 35.22-23 89, 135 Ecclesiastes 3.18-21 194 36.10 268 1:15 78 3.41 144 37.26 182 7:29 123 4.22 144 38.1-15 38

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Index of Sources

40.15 79 17 333 3:7 132 41.10 79 17:12 213 3:8 317, 321 42.19 121 17:22-26 332 3:12-13 333 48.25 121 17:24-27 328 6:20 7 49.16 44, 56 18:17 315 6:20-23 67 51.25 119 19:28 323, 324 7:22 67, 69 19:29 318 10:21-22 7, 315 Tobit, Book of 59 20:20-28 323 11:27 315 6.13 50, 51 20:22 324 11:52 102 7.12 50, 51 20:25 323 20:17 273, 316 7.13 50, 51 21:9 279 22:20 318 7.14 51 21:33-46 316 22:22 79 8.6 51, 59 21:42 273, 316 22:24-27 323 10.13 51 21:43 328 22:29-30 324 14.4 122 23 79 22:30 323 23:2-3 219 22:69 324 Wisdom of Solomon 23:3 101 3.8 319 23:4 103 John 6 120 23:13 102, 103 3:6 290 7.22 288 23:15 103 10:23 332 9.13-18 287 23:16 103 14:26 285 9.15 288 23:23 103 19:1-7 321 9.16-17 289 23:25 103 23:27 103 Acts of the Apostles 23:27-28 101 2:23-36 279 NEW TESTAMENT 23:29 103 2:46 332 23:30 224 3:11 332 Matthew 31 24:31 173 4:11 316 3:7 132 24:36 61 4:34 37 3:9 317, 321 26:24 79 5:12 332 5:3 7, 68 26:64 324 7:55 324 5:3-12 67 13:32-37 279 6:5 101, 112 Mark 13:33-35 280 6:5-6 112 9:11 213 13:34 280 6:16 101 10:35-45 323 23:6 100 6:18 318 10:38 324 23:8 61 8:12 328 10:41-45 11:5 67, 69 11:9-10 279 Romans 304 11:25-30 8, 315 12:1-12 316 7:5 286, 290 12:17 41 12:10 273, 316 7:15-17 124 12:18-21 41, 42 12:17 331 8:5 290 12:20 41, 42 13:27 173 8:8-9 286 12:32 74, 75, 83 13:32 61 8:14 290 16:17 315 14:21 79 12:2 301 16:17-19 315 12:6 301 16:18 312, 314, 315, 316, Luke 31 12:8–13:7 303 323 1:69 111 12:9 301, 303

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INDEX OF SOURCES

12:12 301 2 Thessalonians 21:10-14 247 12:13 303 1:8-9 73 21:12 313, 323 12:14 301 2:3-12 129 21:12-14 311 12:16 301, 303 2:6-7 129, 130 21:14 312, 318, 319 12:16-19 301 2:7-10 130 21:19-20 312, 319, 323 12:19 302, 303 2:9-12 130 21:19-21 247 12:20 302 21:21 311 12:21 302 Hebrews 13 301 1:3 324 13:1-3 299 1:4 273 PSEUDEPIGRAPHICAL 13:5 302 2:5-9 273 BOOKS 3:2-6 273 7:4-10 273 Apocalypse of Baruch 1 Corinthians 7:22 253 (Syriac) [2 Baruch] 2:6-12 289 8:6-7 252 164, 167, 168, 208, 2:6–3:1 289 8:13 253 211 2:14 289 9:10 18 32 211 3:3 285, 290 11:10 313 36.3-5 164 4:8 319 11:13-15 313 36.7-11 166 6:2 319 12:18 253 37 166 12:18-24 249, 250 39.7 165 2 Corinthians 12:21-25 313 40.1 166 5:17 208 13:14 313 40.1-2 166 31:6 274 Galatians Assumption of Moses 291 1:8 61 1 Peter 12.4-5 291 2:9 272, 313, 318 2:5-6 312 4:6 290 2:7 316 1 Enoch (Ethiopic) xiii, 4:21-31 250, 254 2:13-17 302 25, 266, 281 4:22-31 250 7.1 39 5:16-17 124, 290 2 Peter 8.3 39 3:10-13 208 17.28-29 208 20.1 83 Ephesians Revelation 313 20.6 75 1:4-5 276 1:16 168 22.14 271 1:7 22 3:12 314, 318 27 83 1:20 324 3:20-21 318, 324 27.2-3 75, 76 2:3-7 286 12 131 41.8 275 2:19 323 18:3 200 45.4-6 208 2:19-22 247, 313, 318 19:19-21 167 51 281 2:20 314, 316, 323 20:8 213 51.3 281 5:8-11 291 20:11–21:14 208 62.6 281 5:19-23 291 21 323 63.3 129 21 314, 318 84.5 73 Philippians 21:2 247, 319 89.19 275 3:5 100 21:4 323 90.19 151 3:20 313 21:9 247 90.25 275

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Index of Sources

90.34 151, 165 1.2 271, 276 4.21 270 91.15-17 208 1.3 269 91.19 73 1.3-4 275 Consolation Scroll 255 1.5 275 1.3-4 255 Jubilees xiii, 25, 29, 266 1.6 276, 277 1.15-17 208 1.7 269 Damascus Document 1.26-29 208 1.8 277 (CD) xii, 6, 116, 274 1.27-29 209 1.10 271 1.1-11 249 1.28-29 250 1.14 268, 277 1.11 221, 222 2.26 250 1.17 270 1.12 221, 239 8.19 250 1.18 272, 282 1.14-15 240 10.1-14 39 1.20 276 1.16-18 221 10.12-13 39 1.21 275 1.18 256 13.1 149 1.22 270 2.1 221, 239 24.28 144 1.23 273, 277, 282 2.3 276 1.25 276 2.5-6 298 Sibylline Oracles 199 2.1-27 260-61 2.7-12 2 l. 8 [10] 56 2.5 275 2.12-15 81 l. 27 [33] 56 2.6 270, 274 2.14–3.21 249 3.175-178 185 2.8 267, 277, 282 2.15 275 3.190 185 2.9 274 3.4-5 272 3.194-195 185 2.18-19 278 3.15 276 3.257-259 200 2.19 270, 274, 282 3.17 20 3.350-355 199 2.20 271 3.19–4.4 18 3.350-361 199 2.22 268 3.20 44 3.781-782 151, 165 2.23 265 4.2-3 222, 242 2.25 277 4.3-4 6 Testaments of the Twelve 2.25-27 269 4.10-12 228 Patriarchs xiii, 25, 29 2.26 277 4.12-13 19, 284 Testament of Judah 29 2.27 277 4.19 221 3.1 276 4.19-21 221 Testament of Levi 30, 274 3.1-27 261-62 5.5 6 4.3 310 3.2-5 277 5.11–6.2 221 3.4 276, 281 5.14 132 3.15 276 5.20 240 QUMRAN 3.17-19 278, 282 6.5 xii, 222 DOCUMENTS 3.18 272 6.7 220 3.26 277 6.14 19, 284 Apocryphal 4.1-2 281 6.14-16 9 Lamentations 255 4.1-27 262-24, 275 6.19 17 4.6 274 7.9-10 227 Apocryphal Psalms 4.6-7 277 7.9-14 227, 229 154 170, 171 4.11 271 7.12 227 4.11-12 271 7.12-13 229 Apocryphal Psalms 4.12 270, 271 7.18-19 xii, 220 of David 258-82 4.16 277 7.21 11 1.1-27 258-60 4.19 271, 277 8.4-5 106, 226

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INDEX OF SOURCES

8.8-9 106, 226 5.20-21 57 10.31 256 8.9-10 223 5.20-22 289 10.31-32 221 8.12 101 5.21-22 20 10.31-37 221 8.12-13 221 5.24-25 121, 138, 289 10.32 239 8.13 239 6.4 15, 18 10:32-33 223 8.16 226 6.6 21 10.34 219 8.18 221 6.12 288 10.36 223 8.21 xii, 17 6.13 290 11.1-18 11 8.21–20.1 222 6.15 4 11.5-18 131 9.20–10.3 249 6.15-16 15, 129 11.10 11 10.19 xii 6.17 276 11.10-12 132 11.5 223 6.18-20 23 11:10-18 120 12.20-21 3 6.20 4 11.11 137 12.23 19, 284 7.6 113 11.12 132 13.21 11 7.12 276, 288 11:17-18 132, 137 13.23–14.1 227, 229 7.14-21 2 11:18 132 14.19 11 7.17-18 23 11.20 21 15.13-15 296 7.17-32 23 11.26-36 120 19.17 106 7.21-22 287, 289 12.6-7 221 19.21 106 8.6 276 12.7 219, 256 19.25 102 8.14 290 12.7-12 221 19.34 xii 8.19-21 22 12.8 102 20.1 11 8.36 129 12.9-10 256 20.10-12 221 9.7-8 2 12.9-11 219 20.10-15 222 9.7-20 21, 284 12.9-18 9 20.11 221 9.11 20 12:10-11 223 20.13-15 222 9.13-16 57 12.11 102 20.14-15 221 9.14 21 12.14 219 20.21 xii 9.15 284 12.14-20 221 20.22-24 117 9.16 3 12.16-17 102 20.28 222 9.21 21, 288 12.24-25 42 20.32 222 9.21-22 57 12.29-30 287 9.21-23 20, 285 12:29-33 286 Florilegium 9.21-27 21, 284 12.30 20 1.14 272 9.23-25 3 12.31 21 1.14-16 226 9.26-27 20 12:31-32 288 1.14-17 104 10.8-9 239 12.35-37 22 10.12-13 120 12.38 2 Genesis Apocryphon 38 10.13 256, 276 13.24-25 3 1.2 129 10.14 256 13:25-26 294 col. 20 53 10.14-18 221 13:36-37 129 10:18-19 244 14 315 Hodayot xii, 6, 8, 19 10:20-21 272 14.5 219, 221, 223, 239 1.10 121 10:22 237, 239 14.7 9 4.15 44 10.22-23 221 14.7-10 23 4.25 43, 289, 290 10.25-28 120 14.8 113 5 129 10.27-28 132 14.8-9 13

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Index of Sources

14.25 236 1.18 3 4.21-22 44 14.26-36 314 1.23 19, 284 4.22-23 44 14.29 151, 165 2.7-8 73 4.23 44 14:29-35 120 2.12 3 5.2 6 15.8-9 57 2.14-15 73 5.4-5 8 15.27 276 2.15 3 5.5-7 242, 244 15.29-32 23 2.19 19, 45, 284 5.10-11 73 15.34 219, 221, 237 3.4 19 5.12-13 73 16.5-6 18 3.4-9 19 5.13-14 19 16.7 18 3.6-7 285 5.15-20 9 16.8-15 317 3.8 45 5.19 17, 243, 253 16.10-11 294 3.11 17 6.3-5 6 16.10-13 18 3.13–4.36 26 6.4 6 16.34-35 129 3.15-16 2, 27, 300 6.5 7 17.9 276 3.17 28 6.6-7 220 18.3-4 288 3.17-18 21, 28, 284 6.13 37 18.3-7 287, 289 3.17-19 45 6.13-14 241 18.5 276 3.17-21 27-28 6.18-24 37 18.5-7 22 3.19 46, 47, 48, 130, 132 6.19-20 34 18.22-23 195 3.20 46 7.16 7 18.22-25 7 3.20-24 128 8 105 19.9-10 23 3.23 129, 135 8.1 322 19.10-11 286 3.25 2, 48 8.1-2 307 19.10-14 21 3.25-26 46, 285 8.4 3 19.11 285 4.2 21, 46 8.4-11 18 19.12 23 4.2-8 28 8.5-6 307 19.14 113, 208 4.2-14 28, 291 8.7-8 307 19:27-34 113 4.3 27 8.11-12 3, 296 20.11-13 287, 288 4.5 19, 45 8.12 16 20.32-34 287 4.6 45, 295 8.12-16 226 21.11-14 208 4.9-14 28 8.13 9 22 58 4.10 19, 79 8.13-16 105, 296 23.6 256 4.16-17 300 8.14-16 297 23.13 285 4.16-18 9, 28, 46 8.15-16 4, 297 24.7-9 129 4.18-19 2, 129, 137 8.8 45 4.18-20 43 9.1 297 Manual of 4.18-21 48 9.4-5 17 Discipline xii, 6, 8, 19, 24, 4.18-23 44, 47, 123, 125, 9.5-6 18 26, 74, 304, 310 127-28, 130, 131, 9.7 6, 18 1.5 303 137 9.8-9 195 1.7 241 4.19 21, 45, 135, 292 9.11 11, 295 1.7-8 242 4.19-20 19, 45, 48, 284 9.12-21 303 1.8 17 4.19-21 41 9.12-26 297 1.8-9 295 4.20 129 9.13-14 4, 198, 300 1.9-11 9 4.20-21 46, 58 9.14 6, 301 1.11 241 4.20-22 20, 44, 48 9.17 33, 294 1.11-12 34 4.21 285 9.18-20 4

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INDEX OF SOURCES

9.19-20 226 8–12 206 7.11-14 4, 10 9.20 105 8.1-2 256 9.21-23 196, 302, 333 Ordinances 330 8.1-3 228, 241 9.21-24 16, 298 8.8-12 195 9.21-25 301 Pesher 8.11 223, 230 9.22 302 Habakkuk 5, 6, 175, 8.12 223 9.24-25 15 187, 188, 201 9.1-2 231 9.25-26 295 1.10-13 41 9.4-6 10, 187 10.15 188 2.1-4 221, 222 9.4-7 5, 14, 186, 193, 195, 10.17-18 15 2.3 17 199, 223 10.17-19 301 2.5 239 9.9-10 231 10.17-21 303 2.6-8 237 9.9-12 231 10.18 301 2.6-10 296 10.5-13 221 10.19 196, 302 2.8 6 10.9-10 222 10.24 3 2.12 192 10.9-13 222, 237 10.25-26 4 2.12-13 189 10.9-14 221, 240 10.26–11.2 303 2.12-15 188 10.10 239 11.1 301 2.14-15 191 10.13 17 11.1-2 15, 301 3.2-5 204 11.7–12.6 161 11.2 195 3.4-5 190, 192 12.1-5 241 11.7 286 3.4-6 188 12.3-4 161 11.9 20, 21, 22, 285, 290 3.5-6 189, 191, 193, 202, 12.3-5 228, 239, 256 11.10-11 22, 288 204 12.4 8 11.11 22 3.9-11 192 12.4-5 241 11.12 20, 285, 290 3.9-12 5, 192 12.10 223 11.14-15 20, 21 3.9-13 188 64.6-13 116 3.10-11 189 Pesher Hosea 230 3.12-13 191 2.2-6100 Melchizedek, 4.2-3 190 2.3-6 222 midrash on 248-49 4.5-6 190 2.4-6 255 2.8 248 4.5-8 204 2.5 240 2.13-14 248 4.5-9 188, 191, 193 2.5-6 219 2.23-24 249 4.10-13 189, 190 2.24 106, 226 4.12-13 192 Pesher Isaiah 161, 236, 2.24-25 236 5.4-5 319 313, 318, 314, 321 10.16 288 5.7 19 1–7 305-6, 309 5.8-12 221 1.1-4 323 Mysteries 40, 57, 89, 120, 5.9-11 222 1.1-5 307, 308 124, 125, 138 6.1-5 189 1.1-7 305-6, 309 1.2 219 6.6-7 193 1.2-3 321 1.5 40, 44, 46 6.6-8 192 1.3 161, 246 1.8-12 206 6.10-11 189 1.4-6 321 2–12 121-22 6.10-12 189, 191 1.5 322 2.6 119 6.14–7.5 297 1.6-7 306 5–7 122, 125, 128, 130, 7.2 10 1.7 321, 322 132, 136, 137 7.7-8 14 2 310 8 122, 137 7.8 129 2–3 311

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Index of Sources

2.6-7 255 2.9 225 3.15-16 221, 237 2.6-8 222 2.18 232 3.15-17 255 2.10 255 2.18-20 233 3.19 255 2.10-11 221, 255 3.1-12 217-18 4.4 255 2.17 239 3.4 135, 243 4.7-10 211 2.23 164 3.4-5 228 4.8 222, 223 2.27 161 3.4-8 239 4.8-10 231 3.1-13 161 3.5 224, 240, 242 4.9 223 3.7-8 162 3.6-8 239 4.9-10 232 4 306, 307, 310, 312 3.7 239, 240, 242, 243 4.10 232 4.36 239 3.7-8 240 4.27 255, 257 5–6 310 3.9 224, 233, 236 5 312 3.11 182, 233 Prayer for the Welfare of 6–7 306 3.15-16 221 King Jonathan 170, 172, 6 307 4.1 224 173-74 7 310, 312 4.1-4 238 2.3 170 54.11-12 246 4.1-9 218 3.8 170 4.2 224 Pesher Micah 5, 221, 4.3-4 233 Psalms Scroll 171, 265, 240, 241, 243, 248 4.4 186, 187 267, 274, 277, 281 4.5 222 19.3-4 270 Pesher Nahum 109, 171, 4.5-6 224, 234 21.7 270 198, 203, 205, 215, 4.6 224 24.4-5 281 224, 230-45, 254, 4.13 117 24.6 270 255 5.5-6 239 24.9 122 1.1-12 215-16 15.2 155 27.2 267 1.2 155, 220, 222 27.4-5 267 1.2-3 140 Pesher Psalms 5, 229 27.4-8 267 1.3 221, 233 1.6-8 11 27.7 266 1.4 230 1.17-19 211 27.7-9 266 1.4-5 161 1.25-27 255 27.10 266 1.6-8 220 1.25–2.1 256 27.11 267 1.7-8 222, 230 2.4-5 245 28.8-10 273 1.11 81, 235 2.9-11 10 1.11-12 186 2.13-15 255 Rule of the 1.12 222, 224 2.14-16 256 Congregation xii 2.1-8 161 2.15 6 1.1-2 245 2.1-12 216-17 2.16-20 222, 231 1.2-3 106, 226 2.1–3.8 222 2.17-19 255 2.2 224, 238 2.18-20 223, 233 Temple Scroll xii 2.2-5 198-99 2.20 232 1.373 82 2.4 233 3.1-2 44 1.373-379 81 2.4-6 220 3.5 10 2.289-291 81 2.7-10 243 3.5-11 196, 245 29.7-8 209 2.8 218, 224, 240 3.7-8 134 29.7-10 209 2.8-10 102, 219, 232, 244, 3.12 256 29.9-10 210, 211 256 3.12-13 10 30.1-2 210

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INDEX OF SOURCES

64.6-9 78 13.4-5 19 PHILO OF 64.6-13 81 13.7-8 17 ALEXANDRIA 64.10 82 13.12-16 14 xi, 32 66.8-9 51 13:14 62 13.14-16 12 Testimonia 14.7 7 Omnis Probus Liber Sit l. 27 229 14.9 129 1.75 17 14 310 15.2 160 82 5 15.2-3 151, 165 89-91 234 War Rule 159-60, 162 16.9 129 17.5 135 War Scroll xii, 4, 5, 6, JOSEPHUS FLAVIUS 17.6 2, 12 11-12, 141, 145, xi, 25, 32-33, 34 17.16–18.3 152 158, 159, 160, 168, 17.17 129 197 1.1-2 141, 143 18.1 152 Jewish Antiquities 281 1.1-7 12, 141, 154, 155 18.1-3 163 1.128 5, 140 1.2 5, 10, 148, 152, 154, 18.2 149 13.172 27 155, 228 18.5 150, 163 13.209 30 1.3 10, 152 19.9-11 144, 150, 163, 165 13.308-381 81 1.4 141, 142, 143, 148, 13.311 4 151, 152, 154, 160 1Q34 13.311-313 296 1.4-7 146, 147 2.6-7 268 13.300 180 1.5 12, 73 13.394 171 1.5-6 143, 148, 150 13.399-406 172 4Q159 1.6 144, 154, 162 13.401-404 101 1.1-7 12, 141 1.6-7 330 15.371-372 196 1.10 300 15.373-379 296 1.10-11 12 4Q184 18.18 27, 67 1.11-12 142, 143, 144, 147 1.14 276 18.19 17, 105 1.12-14 152, 167 51.3-4 282 1.14 163 4Q180 197 51.6 282 2.1-2 309 59.4 282 2.2-3 310 60 282 2.3 152 4Q280 73 2.5 17 Jewish War 2.6 147, 153 4Q521 67, 69 1.68 30 2.6-8 146, 153 1.69 180 2.11 153 4Q735 139 1.78 4 2.12 148 1.97 81 3.9 129 1.105 171 4QF 10.10 17 2.112-113 296 10.14 56, 58 1.11 220 2.118 331 11.8-9 12 2.120 8 11.11-12 144, 150, 151, 163 4QMMT xii, 44, 118 2.122 7 12.1-5 14 C 6-8 106 2.123 7 12.4-5 188 C 7-8 118 2.126 7

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Index of Sources

2.130 7 Nidah MIDRASHIM 2.136 38 4.2 96 2.139 9, 295 5.2 96 Avot According to Rabbi 2.140 16, 299, 333 Nathan 273 2.141 3, 15, 295, 299 Yadayim A 5 95, 237 2.142 4, 294 4.6-8 99 2.147 256 16 96 2.154-158 67, 208, 212 B59 2.159 18, 296 10 95 2.361-387 202 TOSEFTA 2.567 14 Genesis Rabba 3.11 14 Berakhot 4.5 210 3.19 14 3.25 92, 93, 94, 111, 114, 48 80 115, 116 75 205 Vita 10 100 Shabbat Exodus Rabba 2.13 272, 314 197 100 13.5 96 Leviticus Rabba Yoma MISHNAH 34.3 59 67b 74

Berakhot Numbers Rabba Megillah 12.3 267 4.4 117 5.3 71 4.14 54, 55 Canticles 9.2 270 Ketubot 2.13 88 Ketubot 3.9 53 Eikha Rabbati 7.6 53 1:16 279 Sotah Sotah 15.11 97 Mekhilta of Rabbi 9.15 88 Ishmael Sanhedrin 73 to Ex. 14:29 40 Sanhedrin 8.5 56 Pisha 14 63 1.10 83 10.5 79 6.4 82 13.4-5 71, 72 Midrash Hagadol to 6.5 64 13.5 75, 83 Genesis 10.1 77, 78, 252 274 80 Tohorot Eduyot 9.14 320 Midrash Hagadol to 2.10 72 Numbers 21:2 149 Avot Miqvaot 1.3 95 7.10 320 Midrash Psalms 2.4 95 16 280 2.8 320 Tosefta Derekh Eretz 51.1 79 6.9 269 2.245 88 104.25-26 205

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INDEX OF SOURCES

Midrash Tanhuma SMALLER TRACTATES BABYLONIAN TALMUD Lev. 3 92 parshat Korah Derekh Eretz Zuta Berakhot 12 118 1 280 28b 272 28b-29a 91 29b 314 { Kallah Rabbati 54 Seder Olam 73, 74, 75 29a 108 3 71-72, 73, 74, 75, 46b 271 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, Soferim 64 56 81, 83, 88, 89, 93, 1.7 320 71 56 114, 115, 116, 118 13.12 111 17 226 Shabbat Semahot 87a 271 Sifra to Leviticus 2.10 95 114a 56 18:4 74 26:9 249, 253 Pesahim 103b 55 PALESTINIAN TALMUD Yoma Sifre Numbers 74 67b 74 84 52, 63 Berakhot 101 273 2.5a 279 Rosh ha-Shanah 103 273 3.25 278 17a 71, 79 9, 13b 103 Sifre Deuteronomy Megillah 42 61 Ketubot 6a 205 304 270, 284 4, 8a 91 17b 157 307 123 4, 28d 53 { 337 61 Mo ed Qatan 328 74 Sotah 10a 320 352 210, 224 5, 20c 103 Hagigah 12b 76 Sifre Zuta Shabbat 101 273 6.8b 267 Yevamot 103 273 62a 320 175 273 Eruvin 276 273 10.23c 267 Ketubot 7b 54 Targum Isaiah Betzah 7b-8a 54 12:3 276 6.6.62a 320 8a 55, 57 53:9 73 Sotah 63:16 273 Yebamot 22b 101, 102, 172, 218 15, 14d 53 Targum Nahum Qiddushin 2:13 235 Sanhedrin 66a 99 2:14 235 13.5 75, 76 66b 171

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Index of Sources

Baba Batra Qafa prayerbook for the ADDITIONAL 4a 96 High Holy Days 270 CHRISTIAN SOURCES 17a 280 Clement of Rome Rav Amram Gaon, Epistle to the Corinthians Sanhedrin prayerbook of 84n.42, 5:2-5 314 14a 320 85, 87, 270 43a 320 47a 96 Didache 25-26 84 56 Siddur Rinat Israel 279 3.7-8 27 92b-93a 273 8.1-2 101 97a 157 9.2 279 97b 88 Worms, 9.4 172 prayerbook 91 n. 60 10.5 172 10.6 279 Shevuot 15b 267 Yalkut Makhiri to Psalms Eusebius 2.233 273 Ecclesiastical History 3:8 267 Menahot 6.25.2.1 180 109 103 65a 330 Lactantius Yalkut Shim{oni to Divinae Institutiones ADDITIONAL JEWISH Numbers 6.8.6-9 126 SOURCES 23:9 272, 312 7.15.13 149 7.18.5 166 7.18.6-7 167 Amidah 68, 69, 70, 84, 89, Sefer Assaf ha-Rofe 39 90, 92, 110, 111, Epitome 166 112, 113. See also 67.1-2 167 Index of Subjects Siddur Aleppo 84, 135 Pseudo-Clementines Birkat ha-Minim 86, 87, Sefer Josippon 97, 98, 1.54-71 95 88, 108-9 140, 171, 264

GREEK, ROMAN, AND Grace after Meals 212 Maimonides’ OTHER SOURCES prayerbook 87, 88, Haftarah blessings 138-39 135, 207 Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics 7.3 125 Mahzor Vitry 91, 135, 279 Siddur }Otzar ha-Tefilot Cleanthes, hymn } 1.336-337 84 Prayerbook of Sa adia to Zeus 126 Gaon 207 252b 57 Cicero 200 Prayerbook of the Siddur Rav Sa}adia De Republica Yemenite community 270 Gaon 55, 85, 88, 108, 121 3.22.23 126

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INDEX OF SOURCES

Second Oration Against Plato Virgil Verres 81c 288 Aeneid 3.12 331 851-853 190 Pliny the Elder xi Julius Caesar Ugaritic epics 66 Bellum Gallicum Sallust 7, 77.15 201 Epistle to Mithridates the King of Pontus 201-2 Xenophon Ovid On the Education of Cyrus Book VI, 1.41 125 Metamorphoses Seneca 7.20-21 206 Epistles to Lucilius 7.21-22 125 21.1 125

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