The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English

by Geza Vermes

  Fr. 9

  [Let no man eat wheat, wi]ne or oil unless [the priest has waved] their best, the firstfruit of the produce. No man shall delay, for [wine] is the firstfruit of the produce, [and] the wheat. The juice ... (cf. Exod. 22:28). The firstfruits are the leavened loaves which they bring [on the d]ay of the [firstfruits.] These are firstfruits: let no man eat new wheat ... until the day of the bread of the firstfruits has come ...

  Fr. 16

  ... When a woman is given to a priest, she [may eat] the food of her husband. [... One acquired by him for money and one born into his house, they] may eat his food. But a whore [and a profaned woman may not eat the consecrated food. And] every unfaithful deed which [a man] shall commit ... to eat, for it is an abomination ... owner who is without redeemer ...

  Fr. 17

  On cases of incest ... No man shall take the w[ife of his father so as to uncover the skirt of his father. No man shall take] the daughter of his brother or the daughter of [his] si[ster]. No man shall uncover the nakedness of the sister of [his] mo[ther or of his father. This is wickedness. A woman shall not be given to the brother of] her father or to the brother of her mother ... A man shall not uncover the nakedness of ... A man shall not give his daughter ...

  4QHalakhah B

  (4Q264a)

  Three fragments of a legal document, the first of which partly overlaps with various sections of 4Q421, deal with Sabbath regulations.

  For the editio princeps, see J. M. Baumgarten, DJD, XXXV, 53-6.

  Fr. I i

  I ... [No man shall revise the scro]ll of a book reading its script on the day of [Sabbath] ... But they may read and study it. No man shall make plans with his mouth ... [on the day of Sabbath. He shall not talk] about any matter relating to work or wealth or ... on the day of Sabbath. He shall sp[eak no wo]rd apart from speaking holy words as prescribed and from pronouncing blessings of God. He may talk about eating and drink[ing] ...

  4QTohorot (Purities) A

  (4Q274)

  This is the first of ten Cave 4 manuscripts dealing with purity matters. The text translated represents column I of the document and the first word of column II. 4Q274 deals with uncleanness caused by bodily fluxes and issues of blood and with the means of its removal. Parts of fr. 3 are concerned with the uncleanness associated with the juice oozing out of fruit.

  For the editio princeps, see J. M. Baumgarten, DJD, XXXV, 99-109.

  Fr. I i

  I ... [Let him not] begin to cast his lot. He shall lie on a bed of sorrow and sit in a seat of sighs. He shall dwell in isolation with all the unclean, and away from (food) purity at a distance of twelve cubits in the wing (assigned) to him (?) on the north-west of every dwelling-house according to this measure. Every man from among the unclean ... he shall bathe in water [on the seven]th d[ay] and wash his clothes, and afterwards he may eat. For this is what he said, He shall cry, Unclean, unclean (Lev. xiii, 45), as long as [the pla]gue af[fects him].

  A woman with a seven-day issue of blood shall not touch a man with a flux, nor any vessel touched by a man who has a flux, nor anything he has lain or sat on. But if she has touched (them), she shall wash her garments and bathe, and afterwards she may eat. Above all, she shall not mingle (with the pure) [during] her seven days so that she may not pollute the c[amp]s of the Ho[ly] of Israel. Neither shall she touch any woman with a long-term issue of blood. And the person, either male or female, who counts (the seven days: cf. Lev. xv, 13) shall not touch the menstruant during her uncleanness. Only when she has purified herself [from] her [un]cleanness (may she be touched), for the blood of the menstruant is reckoned as a flux for anyone who touches it. And if he has touched [bodily] f[lux or s]emen, h[e shall] be unclean. [And he who has tou]ched a man from among all these unclean persons during the seven days of [his] cleans[ing] he shall [n]ot eat. If he has become unclean because of a corp[se, he shall bathe in wat]er, wash (his garments) and afterwards II he may e[at].

  Fr. 2 i

  ... when they sprinkle on him for the first time. He shall bathe and wash (his clothes) before [he eats. If it oc]curs for him on the seventh (day) on the Sabbath day, he shall not sprinkle on the Sabbath, for [He says: Keep] the Sabbath (Deut. v, 12). But he shall not touch anything pure until he has repeated it. All that touches semen be it a man or any vessel shall be immersed. And the bearer of it [shall immer]se. And the garment on which it (the semen) is and the vessel which carries it shall be immersed [in wate]r. If there is a man in the camp who is unable to do this (lacks a spare garment), he shall bath[e and put on an]y garment which has not been touched by it (the semen) as long as it does not touch his bread (food). He who touches [his bed or] his [sea]t, if [his] gar[ment] has not touched it (the semen), [he shall bathe] in water. But if [his garment has touched it (the bed or the seat)], he shall wash it (the garment). A man shall wash (his garment) with water for (eating) all consecrated food ...

  4Q274 3 i-ii

  I ... God uncovers the pupil of his eye, he shall read ... all their precepts ... for he who eats ... and he is unclean ... [if] (the fruit’s) juice [has not oozed out, he shall eat it in purity, but all those] which have been squeezed so that their juice has oozed out, no man should eat them [if] an unclean man [has to]uched them. [And al]so from the greens ... or ripe cucumber. Whoever has ...

  II ... and any (vessel) which has a seal ... [shall be unclean] for a cleaner man. Any green [that has no] moisture of dew [on it] may be eaten. And if it is n[ot eaten, let him put it] into the midst of the water. For if a man [were to put it on] the ground, and [water] reached it when the rain [descended] on it, if an [unclean man] touches it, [let him not eat it] in the field by any means until the period [of his purification] ...

  Any earthen vessel which ... which is in its midst ... the liquid ...

  4QTohorot Ba-Bb

  (40276-7)

  These two fragments deal with the biblical law of the ‘red heifer’, the ashes of which were used for the preparation of the ‘water for (the removal of) uncleanness’ necessary for the cleansing of impurity resulting from contact with a dead body. Relevant extracts from Num. xix are freely quoted. The subject is treated also in MMT B 13 (4Q394 frs. 3-7 i, 16-20). The script dates to the late first century BCE.

  For the editio princeps, see J. M. Baumgarten, DJD, XXXV, 111-19.

  4Q276

  [And the priest wears the garments] in which he is not ministering in the Sanctuary ... renders the garments guilty. And he slaughtered [the] heifer before Him. He shall carry her blood in a clay vessel which is [not brough]t near the altar. And with his finger he shall sprinkle some of her blood seven [times towa]rds the front of the tent of meeting. And he shall cast the cedarwood, [the hyssop and the scarlet ma]terial in the midst of her burning. [And he who burns (it)], a man who is clean of every corpse uncleanness, [shall wash his clothes and gather] up the ashes of the heifer [and shall de]posit them to be kept [by the children of Israel for the water for uncleanness, for the removal of sin. And] the priest shall put on ...

  4Q277

  The priest shall take the hyssop and ... The man cleansed from uncleanness (lasting until) the evening [shall gather the ashes of the heifer and give them to] the priest who atones with the blood of the heifer ... with [whi]ch they atone with the law of the [red heifer] ... in water [and he shall be un]clean until the evening. And he who carries the cauldron of the water for uncleanness shall be uncl[ean and shall wash himself in water and wash (his clothes)]. And [the] man [shall sprinkle] the water for uncleanness on those defiled by uncleanness, for a pure priest ... on them, fo[r he shall] atone for the unclean. No wanton man shall sprinkle on the unclean ... the water for uncleanness and he shall bring him to the water and shall purify him from corpse uncleanness.... [The pri]est shall scatter on them the water for uncleanness to purify [them] ... for they will indeed be purified and their flesh shall be p[ure] and anyone who touches [him] ... his flux ... and [his] h[ands] are not drenched in water. His [b]ed and [his] dwelli[ng] shall be unclean ... they
who touch his flux are like one who has touched the uncleanness of one who has touched (a corpse); [he will be unc]lean until the evening. And he who carries his [cl]othes shall wash and shall be unclean until the evening.

  4Q Harvesting

  (4Q284a)

  Four fragments of a document have survived in a late Hasmonaean—early Herodian script (mid-first century BCE). They deal with matters of uncleanness affecting fruits. Only fr. 1 is translatable. The phrase ‘liquids of the Congregation’ links this fragment to IQS VI, 20, VII, 20.

  For the editio princeps, see J. M. Baumgarten, DJD, XXXV, 131-3.

  Fr. 1

  ... bask[et ... And let him no]t gather them ... may not touch the liquids of the Congregation, for these [render unclean the] basket and the figs [and the pomegranates, if] their ju[ice] oozes out wh[en he squee]zes them all and [a man] who has not been brou[ght into the C]ovenant has gathered them. And if they press [olives in the olive press], let him not pollute them in a[ny man]ner by opening them until he pours [them into the press].... in purity ...

  The Master’s Exhortation to the Sons of Dawn

  (40298)

  Eight fragments of a manuscript which, apart from its title, is written in a cryptic alphabet, contain an exhortation to a group, designated as ‘sons of dawn’ by the ‘Master’ (maskil), the title of the teacher in charge of instruction in the Community (cf. Community Rule). The phrase, ‘sons of dawn’ (bene ha-shahar) is possibly attested in the Damascus Document XIII, 14 (cf. M. Broshi, The Damascus Document Reconsidered, Jerusalem, 1992, [35]: ‘No member of the Covenant shall have any dealings with the sons of dawn except for payment’). The earlier reading was ‘sons of the Pit’ (bene ha-shahat). S. Pfann suggests that ‘the sons of dawn’ (not yet ‘sons of light’) are newcomers to the sect at the earliest stages of their initiation. The exhortation recalls the opening pages of the Damascus Document. The square script of the title is said to belong to the second half of the first century BCE. Parts of frs. 1-2 and 3-4 are large enough to be translated.

  For the editio princeps, see Stephen Pfann and M. Kister, DJD, XX, 1-30.

  4Q298, frs. 1-2 i

  [Wor]d of the Master which he spoke to all the sons of Dawn. Liste[n to me a]ll men of heart (=intelligence) and understand my word. [And seeke]rs of righteousness, h[ea]r my word in all that proceeds from [my] lips. Those who [k]now have sear[ch]ed [th]ese (matters) and [have] returned [to the path] of life ...

  Frs- 3-4 ii

  ... And now listen, [O wise men], and hear, O you with knowledge, hear. And men of understanding, in[crease migh]t, and modesty, you who search judgement. [You who] kn[ow the way], increase strength, and men of truth, pursu[e righteousness], and you who love kindness, increase humility ... appointed time which ... you will understand the end of the ages and you will gaze at ancient things to know ...

  4Q Men Who Err

  (40306)

  Three small fragments allude to a group unfaithful to the Covenant (of Israel). The allusion to dogs recalls 4QMMT B 58-9.

  For the editio princeps, see T. Lim, DJD, XXXVI, 249-54.

  Fr. 1

  The outcasts (?) who stray and do not practise [the precept], for they transgress it [from day] to day, from month to mon[th], all that is (in) the Covenant of I[srael].... its flesh and they spit ... and he will be angry. And the dogs will eat [the bones (coming) from the Temple]. He shall exclude the d[og]s from the (Temple) court ...

  Register of Rebukes

  (4Q477)

  Fragments of two columns of a document contain a list of Community members rebuked for offences against the rules. This is the only scroll fragment which reveals the names of individual members: Yohanan son of Ar[ ], Hananiah Notos and Hananiah son of Sim[on]. According to the editor, Esther Eshel, the rebukes listed here were read out in public by the mebaqqer (or Guardian), hence the title given by her, The Rebukes Reported by the Overseer. To be more precise, it is likely that the rebukes originated with witnesses of the offence. They reported it to the Guardian who was to record the infringement (cf. CD IX, 2-4; 16-20). The epithet Notos attached to the name of Hananiah probably means ‘Southerner’ in line with a parallel Masada inscription (no. 462: Shim’on bar Notos) according to Y. Yadin and J. Naveh, Masada I (Jerusalem, 1989), 40. D. Flusser, as quoted by Eshel, associates Notos with the Greek nothos (bastard). In col. II, 1. 8, Eshel, following M. Broshi, reads shyr (=sh’r) bsrw (i.e. near kin); R. Eisenman and M. Wise have shpk bsrw (emission of his body) and J. M. Baumgarten (JJS 45 (1994), 277) swd bsrw (the carnal foundation of man).

  Frs. 1, 2 i and 3: the text is too fragmentary for translation. Note the significant phrases ‘[to] recall their transgression’, ‘men of the [Community?]’, ‘to rebuke’ and [‘c]amps of the Congregation’ and ‘they rebuked’.

  For the editio princeps, see E. Eshel, DJD, XXXVI, 474-83.

  Fr. 2

  II ... who ... [wh]o acted wickedly ... the Congregation ... Yohanan son of Ar ... [they rebuked because] he was short-tempered ... with him ... the iniquity with him and also the spirit of pride was with [him] ... vacat They rebuked Hananiah Notos because he ... [to dis]turb the spirit of the Communi[ty ... and] also to mingle the ... they rebu[k]ed because evil ... was with him and also because he was not ... and also because he loved his bodily nature (or: showed preference to his near kin) ... [blank] And [they rebuked] Hananiah son of Sim[on] [because he] ... and he also loves the goodness ...

  Remonstrances (before Conversion?)

  (4Q471a)

  This small fragment, written in Herodian script, contains reproofs addressed in the second person plural to a group of wicked Jews. The context is that of a war. It is unlikely to belong to the War Scroll or the Book of War as neither of these includes speeches to outsiders. According to a conjecture proposed by the editors, the opponents of the sect thus criticized are the ruling class of Judaea (Hasmonaeans and perhaps also Sadducees), but nothing in the surviving text positively supports their cautiously presented surmise. However, the second half of the fragment can be interpreted in a positive sense, in which case the scene may be a last-minute mass conversion of unfaithful Jews before the final battle.

  For the editio princeps, see Esther Eshel and Menahem Kister, DJD, XXXVI, 446-9.

  ... time(?) you have commanded not to ... You have been unfaithful to His covenant ... [You] said: Let us fight His wars for He has redeemed us ... Your [mighty men] shall be humbled. And they did not know that He has despised ... you shall show yourselves mighty in war. And you have been reckoned ... by His measuring line(?). You shall seek righteous judgement and the work ... you shall exalt yourselves. And He has chosen t[hem] ... for a cry ... And you will return ... sweet

  B. Hymns and Poems

  ‘Thanksgiving Scroll’,

  The Shrine of the Book,

  Israel Museum, Jerusalem

  The Thanksgiving Hymns

  (IQH, IQ36, 4Q427-32)

  The Hymns Scroll was published by E. L. Sukenik in 1954-5 (The Dead Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem). It has suffered a good deal of deterioration and the translator has difficulty, not only in making sense of the poems, but also in determining where one ends and another begins. For a method of restoration of the Hymns, see E. Puech, ‘Quelques aspects de la restauration du Rouleau des Hymnes’, JJS 39 (1988), 38-55. He has convincingly argued that apart from some fragments, the first three columns of the original Hymns Scroll are lost. The missing beginning should be followed by the existing columns in the following order: XVII (sheet 1), XIII-XVI (sheet 2), I-IV (sheet 3), V-VIII (sheet 4) and IX-XII of the editio princeps. Four further columns (XXI-XXIV) may be reconstructed with the help of the former col. XVIII and various fragments published by Sukenik. Puech tentatively suggests also two further columns (XXV-XXVI) made up from other fragments.

  Our presentation of the Hymns is now rearranged according to Puech’s thesis and his reconstruction of the poem in col. VI (formerly XIV) is also adopted (cf. art. cit., 53-4). No translation is of
fered for the extremely fragmentary cols. XXIV-XXVI, though it should be noted that col. xxv includes the beginning of a new poem, ‘For the Master. A s[ong (?)]’ from IQH, fr. 8. Further fragments, occasionally used to improve the reading of IQH, may be found at IQ35 (cf. also IQ36 and 37-40; see DJD, I, 136-43) and 4Q427-32; for the latter, see Eileen Schuller, DJD, XXIX, 69-232.

  The poems contained in the Scroll are similar to the biblical Psalms. They are mostly hymns of thanksgiving, individual prayers as opposed to those intended for communal worship, expressing a rich variety of spiritual and doctrinal detail. But the two fundamental themes running through the whole collection are those of salvation and knowledge. The sectary thanks God continually for having been saved from the ‘lot’ of the wicked, and for his gift of insight into the divine mysteries. He, a ‘creature of clay’, has been singled out by his Maker to receive favours of which he feels himself unworthy and he alludes again and again to his frailty and total dependence on God. Whereas some of the Hymns give expression to thoughts and sentiments common to all the members of the sect, others, particularly nos. 1, 2, and 7-11, appear to refer to the experiences of a teacher abandoned by his friends and persecuted by his enemies. Several scholars tend to ascribe the authorship of these to the Teacher of Righteousness, and even consider that he may be responsible for all the Hymns. But although this hypothesis is not impossible, no sure conclusion can yet be reached. Nor are we in a position to date any particular composition. The most we can say is that the collection as such probably attained its final shape during the last pre-Christian century.