PLEA FOR DELIVERANCE (11Q5 XVIII, ?–XIX, 18) 167 especially within the colon or verse. In addition, phonetic parallelism seems to play a role between adjacent verses, specifi cally between hk(ydwhb and hkdyb in vv. 4–5 and between hkm# and ytkmsn in vv. 13–14. Plea, like Apostrophe to Zion, makes relatively frequent use of biblical lan- guage and imagery. Th e second verse’s assertions that “worms” and “maggots” do not praise God resonate with many other biblical passages that speak in similar terms about “the dead” and “those who descend to the pit.” Th e verse (together with v. 3) alludes (through the vocabulary and syntax) more specifi cally, how- ever, to Isa 38:18–19. While in this biblical passage the living are contrasted with the dead in order to encourage God’s salvation, in the Plea the signifi cance of the contrast is subtler, something that can be inferred through a secondary allusion made in the same verse. Plea 2 also seems to allude to Job 25:6, where the word pair hmr and h(lwt occurs in parallelism, a rare occurrence in the Bible (see Isa 14:11). Th e Job passage is unlike that from Isaiah 38 in that the reference is not to the dead but rather to the abject state of humanity. Th e double allusion in Plea 2–3 (to Job 25 and Isa 38) complements the idea expressed in the following verses that humanity, when it lacks God’s mercy, is dejected and like the dead, unable to praise him. Another reference to Job appears in Plea 5, which alludes to Job 12:10, mirroring the biblical verse’s expression (v. 5a repeats verbatim Job 12:10a) and syntax. Here, the allusion complements the sentiment implied in the preceding verses, that God is all powerful. Th e Plea alters the words of Job 12:10b so that the text becomes slightly more alliterative and is reminiscent of the language used to describe the creation of humanity in Isa 42:5 and Gen 2:7. Th e poem also contains echoes of other biblical passages, for example, the reference in v. 11 to sins selling one to Sheol, which echoes Isa 50:11. More inter- esting, however, are the several parallel expressions between the Plea and other Dead Sea Scrolls, especially the Hodayot. Th ese include, in v. 14, a parallel expres- sion to 1QHa XII, 36–38 and 4Q437 2 I, 14; in v. 16, a parallel to 1QHa VI, 36–37; and in v. 17 a parallel to 4Q213a 1 I, 17. Th ese are not necessarily cases of allusion in the Plea. If we assume that these verses are part of an original text, then they probably antedate the Hodayot. However, it bears mentioning that these same verses that bear similarities to other Dead Sea Scrolls are some of the same that Kottsieper has identifi ed as later additions. If Kottsieper is correct, then these verses may, in fact, contain allusions to or echoes of the above texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. In either case, the similarity in language reveals at the very least common idioms (like the appeal against satans in v. 17 and 4Q213a) and sug- gests the possibility that later poetry alluded to and/or echoed the non-Masoretic poems of 11Q5, a supposition that seems borne out by the examination of the last poem in this study, the Hymn to the Creator, whose text is alluded to in other postbiblical texts, including Jubilees. 168 NEW IDIOMS WITHIN OLD Conclusions Although the Plea is oft en described as exhibiting much biblical language and imagery, the underlying meanings and signifi cance of its metaphors are not typi- cally biblical. Instead, the expressions, like those in the Apostrophe to Zion and in other postbiblical poems, adopt biblical idioms to express a theology that is distinct from the one expressed in the Bible. Th e present text uses language and imagery common in the Bible to emphasize the dejected state of humanity in general (characterized as inherently sinful and wormlike), and to underline that humanity is saved only through the mercy of God. Th e helplessness and implied vulnerability of humanity are something that this poem’s theology shares with the Hodayot, something that is all the more interesting given the parallels in lan- guage between the Plea and passages from other Dead Sea Scrolls. Th e Plea also shares features with apotropaic prayers from the Dead Sea Scrolls, including an association between praise of God and the effi cacy of prayer itself. Th is aligns with observations made in relation to the other poems about the importance of praise and blessing. CHAPTER EIGHT Hymn to the Creator (11Q5 XXVI, 9–15) Introduction Th e Hymn to the Creator (= Hymn) is the shortest of the texts scrutinized in this study. It is conventionally described as a wisdom text, similar in this sense to Sir 51:13–30 and Ps 154. Th e beginning of the text is preserved, though its ending is not. It is oft en assumed that only a few lines are missing, since the bottom of col. XXVI also presumably contained 2 Sam 23:1–6, based on the existence of 2 Sam 23:7 at the top of col. XXVII.1 Opinions on the merits of the text’s poetry vary widely; Sanders qualifi es the poem in his introduction as “rather pedestrian,” though Esther Chazon calls it a “beautiful poem.”2 Th e poem has been dis- cussed especially in relation to its possible allusion to various biblical passages, like the angelic declaration “holy, holy, holy” in Isa 6:3 and the prophecy against idolatry in Jer 10:12–13 (which is repeated in 51:15–16 and a portion of which also appears in Ps 135:7).3 In addition, the poem is discussed in relation to other texts that apparently echo or allude to it, for example, the description of creation in Jub. 2:2–3 and another text from the Dead Sea Scrolls, one that treats the ante- diluvian era, 4Q370 I, 1.4 From these two echoes of or allusions to the Hymn in later texts, we may surmise that, although the poem recycles many expressions 1. Skehan proposed that only a single verse was missing, the following line having been left blank (“A Liturgical Complex in 11QPsa,” CBQ 34 [1973]: 202–3); see also García Martínez, “Salmos Apócrifos en Qumran,” 215; Klaus Seybold, “Das Hymnusfragment 11QPsa XXVI 9-15,” in idem, Studien zur Psalmenauslegung (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1998), 199 [his study was written in 1986, but fi rst published in this collection of essays]; and Chazon, “Use of the Bible,” 91 n. 15. Dahmen expresses caution at any reconstruction (Psalmen- und Psalter- Rezeption, 249). 2. Sanders, “Non-Masoretic Psalms,” 199; Chazon, “Use of the Bible,” 92. 3. See Weinfeld, “Angelic Song over the Luminaries,” 131–57; idem, “Traces of Kedu- shat Yozer and Pesukey de-Zimra in the Qumran Literature and in Ben Sira” (in Hebrew), Tarbiz 45 (1975–76): 15–26; Seybold, “Das Hymnusfragment 11QPsa XXVI 9-15,” 199–207, 310–11; and, more recently, R. M. M. Tuschling, Angels and Orthodoxy: A Study in Th eir Devel- opment in Syria and Palestine from the Qumran Texts to Ephrem the Syrian (STAC 40; Tübin- gen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 135–36. 4. Patrick W. Skehan, “Jubilees and the Qumran Psalter,” CBQ 37 (1975): 343–47; -169- 170 NEW IDIOMS WITHIN OLD and images from biblical texts, it still was understood to be a signifi cant work in its own right. Th e present study attempts to investigate the structure of this hymn and how it complements the poem’s theme, as well as to suggest a new way that the links between the Hymn and the Bible may be interpreted. Text and Analysis of the Poem Grammatical Semantic Analysis Analysis 1. rwdw rwdl My#wdq #wdq hwhy #wdqw lwdg 9/ PPS//P2M2 abc//b+bdd 2. Mybr Mym Nwmh wyrx)w Kly 10/ rdh wynpl MSV//MS3 ab//c+de 3. w)sk Nwkm qdcw +p#mw11/tm) wynp bybs tm)w dsx SSM2(=P)//SSSP2 abc+d// ba'a''e+f 4. wbl 12/ t(db Nykh rx# hlp)m rw) lydbm P3(VOM)//OVM2 abc(≠b)// b'de+f 5. w(dy )wl r#) t) M)rh yk wnnryw wyk)lm lwk w)r z) MVS2V//VOV ab+cd//ae 6. yx lwkl bw+ lkw) twbwnt Myrh r+(m 13/ P3(VOO)//O2M2 abc//c'de+f 7. wtmkwxb lbt Nykm wxwkb Cr) 14/ h#w( Kwrb PS3(VOM)//S3(VOM) ab+cd// b'+c'e 8. [wytwrc]w)m [xwr] 15/ )cwyw Mym# h+n wtnwbtb MVO//VOM abc//dec' 9. [Cr)] 16/ hcq[m My])y#n l(yw h#( r[+ml Myqrb] OMV//VOM2 abc//def+g Translation 1. Great and holy (is) the Lord, the holiest of holy ones from generation to generation. 2. Before him goes splendor, and aft er him the roar of many waters. 3. Mercy and faithfulness surround his presence, faithfulness, justice, and righteousness (are) his throne’s foundation. 4. (He is) the one who divided light from darkness, dawn he established with the knowledge of his mind. 5. Aft erward, all his angels saw and sang out in joy, for he showed them what they had not known. 6. (He is) the one who crowned mountains with produce, good food for all the living. 7. Blessed be the one who made earth with his strength, the one who established the world in his wisdom.