The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English
Page 58
And he made a plantation for u[s] his elect in the land that is the most desirable of all the lands ... And he made him as a god over the mighty and as a cause of dread for Pharaoh ... they melted and their heart trembled and their entrails dissolved. And he had mercy ... And when he made his face shine on them for healing, they strengthened [their] heart once more and knowledge ... None having known you, they melted and trembled ...
A Moses Apocryphona
(4Q375)
In a style imitating the Pentateuch, and recalling the Sayings of Moses from Cave 1 (1Q22), 4Q375, fr. 1, col. I lays down instructions regarding the treatment of a person who claims to be a prophet. Should he exhort people to commit apostasy, he is to be executed. However, his tribe may come to his rescue and lodge an appeal with the anointed priest in the city of the sanctuary. The very damaged col. 11 contains a sacrificial ritual employing the terminology of the Day of Atonement from Lev. xvi. The script is early Herodian, i.e. late first century BCE.
For the editio princeps,see John Strugnell, DJD, XIX, 111—19.
Fr. 1
I ... [You will do all that] your God has commanded you from the mouth of the prophet. You will keep [all] these [pre]cepts and you will return to the Lord your God with all [your heart and al]1 your soul. And your God will desist from the wrath of his great anger [to save you] from your misery. And the prophet who will arise and speak defection in your midst, turning you away from your God, shall be put to death. But if the tribe from which he originates stands up (for him) and says, ‘Let him not be put to death, for he is righteous; he is a [trus]tworthy prophet’, you, your elders and your judges will come with that tribe [t]o the place which your God will choose within one of your tribes (to appear) before [the] anointed priest on whose head the oil of anointing has been poured.
A Moses Apocryphonb
(4Q376, 1Q29)
This mid-first-century BCE text, which partly overlaps with 1Q29, is a reworking of Exod. xxviii, 9—12, dealing with the two engraved stones set in the shoulder pieces of the high priest’s liturgical garment (the ephod). Another fragment introduces the secular head of the community, the ‘Prince of the whole congregation’ (cf. 1QM v,1; CD VII, 20, etc.) in his military role, confronting the enemies of Israel or attacking one of their towns.
For the editio princeps, see John Strugnell, DJD, XIX, 121—36.
Fr. 1
II they shall shed light on you. And he shall go out with it with tongues of fire. The left-hand stone on his left side will show itself to the eyes of all the assembly until the priest has completed his speech. And afterwards the ... has gone up ... And you shall keep and d[o al]1 [that] he shall speak to you. And the prophe[t] ...
... preaches rebellion ...
III according to all this judgement. And if the Prince of the whole congregation shall be in the camp and ... his enemy and Israel is with him, or if they go against a city to besiege it or any matter which ... to the Prince ... the distant field ...
A Moses Apocryphonc
(4Q408)
One medium-sized and sixteen small fragments represent a collection of liturgical prayers of which only one can be partly translated. The document is akin to 4Q375 and 376 as well as to 1Q29. Palaeographically the document is placed in the late second century BCE.
For the editio princeps, see Annette Steudel, DJD, XXXVI, 298-319.
Fr. 3 + 3a
... [Bl]essed art Thou, O Lord, who art righteous in all Thy ways. Be mighty in strength ... [in Thy judge]ments. Thou who art faithful ... Thou art understanding [with all in]telligence ... might. Thou who art
... to bring out ... who hast created the morning as a sign to reveal the dominion of the light as the boundary of the daytime ... for their work. To bless Thy holy name Thou hast created them. For the light is good
... [Thou art ...] who hast created the evening as a sign to reveal the dominion [of darkness] ... from labour. Thou hast [c]reated them to bless Thy holy name when they see that the light is good and when ... Thou hast created the evening as a sign (to mark) the appearance of the dominion of [darkness] ...
Apocryphal Pentateuch B (formerly ‘A Moses Apocryphonc’)
(4Q377)
This is part of an apocryphal account of the story of the Israelites at Sinai and in the wilderness. Fragment 2 ii introduces an elder called Elibah, who curses the Jews who fail to observe the Law mediated by Moses during the latter’s stay with God on the mountain.
For the editio princeps, see J. VanderKam and M. Brady, DJD, XXVIII, 205—17.
Fr. 2 ii
II ... they will understand the precepts of Moses. And Elibah answered and said: Hearken, congregation of the Lord, and listen, all the assembly! ... Cursed be the man who does not stand by, keep and prac[tise] all the comman[dments of the L]ord (issued) by the mouth of Moses, His anointed, and follow the Lord, the God of our fathers, He who commanded us from the mountain of Sinai. And He spoke to the people of Israel face to face as a man speaks to his friend ... He made us look at a consuming fire from under the heaven. And on the earth, He stood on the mountain to make it known that there is no god beside Him and no rock like Him. [And all] the assembly ... and trembling seized them because of the glory of God and the marvellous voices ... and they stood at a distance. And Moses the man of God (was) with God in the cloud and the cloud covered him. For ... when he was hallowed and out of His mouth he spoke like an angel. For who is a messenger like him? ... a man of grace who were not created from everlasting to everlasting ...
A Moses (or David) Apocryphon
(4Q373, 2Q22)
Three small Cave 4 fragments which partly overlap with 2Q22 published by M. Baillet (DJD, III, 81—2) represent a historical narrative of an unnamed speaker in the first person, and with the single actual name of Og, king of Bashan (cf. Num. xxi, 33—5; Deut. iii, 4—5, 11). Baillet and the editor of 4Q373, Eileen Schuller, wonder whether the narrator is David and the subject is his fight with Goliath, a theory based on a few verbal similarities to 1 Samuel xvii, which cannot, however, easily account for the mention of Og, apart from his height (see Deut. iii, 11) which was comparable to that of the giant Goliath (cf. 1 Sam. xvii, 4). S. Talmon, on the other hand, has argued that the topic of the fragment is more likely to be the defeat of Og by Moses, richly elaborated by Targum, Midrash and Talmud (cf. L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the JewsI, 160; III, 340—47; V, n. 181; VI, 667-8, 684—700). On the whole, the second alternative seems slightly preferable.
For the editio princeps, see E. Schuller and M. Bernstein, DJD, XXVIII, 199—204.
4Q373 1-2 (2Q22)
... all his servants Og ... his height was ... and a half cubits and two [cubits were his breadth ... ] a spear like a cedar tree ... a shield like a tower. The nimble-footed ... he who removed them seven stadia. [I] did not stand ... and I did not change. The Lord our God broke him. I prepared wounding slings together with bows and not ... for war to conquer fortified cities and to rout ...
Prophecy of Joshua
(4Q522, 5Q9)
Two mutilated columns, as well as several further small fragments, of a narrative appear to describe the future conquest and/or division of the Holy Land. It appears to be related to the extremely fragmentary 5Q9, published by J. T. Milik in DJD, III, 179—80, which mentions the name of Joshua. Col. 1 of 4Q522 consists of a list of localities, of which a number appear in Joshua xv—xxi (e.g. Beer Sheba, Bealoth, Keilah, Adullam, etc.) and Judges i (Ashkelon, Kitron). Col. 11 predicts the conquest of Zion by David and the building of the Temple. In col. 11, 4 and 7 God is referred to in the third person, but in lines 9—10 he seems to be the speaker.
For the editio princeps of 4Q522, see E. Puech, DJD, XXV, 39—74.
Fr. 9
II ... For behold a son is born to Jesse, son of Perez, son of Ju[dah] ... [He is to take] the Rock of Zion and from there he is to possess the Amorites ... to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. Gold and silver ... cedars and cypress trees will he br[ing from] Lebanon to build it. A
nd the sons of ... and David. The Lor[d] will make (him) dwell in security ... [The Lord of h]eaven will reside with him [for] ever. But now the Amorites are there and the Canaan[ites] ... inhabitant whom I consider guilty, whom I have not sought ... from you. And the Shilonite and the ... I have made him a slave ... And now ... to a distance from ... Eleazar ...
A Joshua Apocryphon (i) or Psalms of Joshua
(4Q378—9)
Usually designated by the misnomer ‘Psalms of Joshua’, this badly mutilated composition represents a rewritten account of the story of Joshua. 4Q378, written in Herodian formal script, consists of twenty-seven mostly tiny fragments, while the late Hasmonaean 4Q379 comprises forty-one. The majority of the fragments are too small for meaningful translation. According to Carol Newsom, the overall form of the composition is a farewell speech by Joshua. It contains admonitions, curses and prayers (e.g. ‘prayer for our sins’, 4Q378 6 i, 1.4, a prayer listing the twelve tribes of Israel—Levi, Reuben, Gad, and Dan are legible, 4Q379 1), songs (‘songs of praise’, 4Q379 22 ii, 7, and a praise mentioning Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Eleazar and Ithamar, 4Q379 17). The biblical text used recalls the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch. The numbering of the fragments appears to be arbitrary, as it does not correspond to the sequence of the biblical story. 4Q379 22 ii is quoted in 4QTestimonia (4Q175).
For the editio princeps, see Carol Newsom, DJD, XXII, 241—99.
4Q378 14
... And the children [of Israel] wept [for Moses in the plains of Moab (Deut. xxxiv, 8) by the Jordan at] Jericho at Bethjeshimoth [as far as Abel-shittim (Num. xxxiii, 48—9) for thirty days and (then) the days of weeping and] mourning for Moses were ended (Deut. xxxiv, 8). And the children of Israel ... [the covenant wh]ich the Lord made for ...
... Thy [dr]ead and fear ...
4Q378 II
... for the Lord yo[ur God] ... [to es]tablish his words which he spoke ... [the oath] which he swore to Abraham to give [him] a good and broad [land], a land of brooks of water, [of fountains and springs, flowing forth in val]leys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, [of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and] honey (Deut. viii, 7—8). For [this is] a land flowing with milk and honey; ( ... a land] who[se sto]nes are iron and out of whose hi[ll]s [you can dig] copper (Deut. viii, 9) ...
4Q378 22 i
... Moses, O my God. And he did not annihilate them because of their sins ... thy people by the hand of Joshua, minister of thy servant Moses thy ... by the hand of Moses(?) to Joshua for the sake of thy people ... [the covenant] which thou hast made with Abraham ...
... loving-kindness to thousands
4Q379 12
... they [cr]ossed (the Jordan) on dry grounds (cf. Josh. iv, 22) in [the fi]rst month of the forty-f[irst] year of their exodus from the lan[d] of Egypt (cf. Josh. iv, 19). That was a jubilee year at the beginning of their entry into the land of Canaan. And the Jordan overflows its banks from the f[our]th (?) month until the wheat harvest ...
4Q379 22 ii (combined with 4Q175, lines 21-30)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of I[srael] ...
When Josh[ua] fini[sh]ed off[ering prai]se in [his] thanksgivings, [he said]: C[ursed be the m]an who rebui[1]ds [this cit]y! [May he lay its foundations] on [his] first-born, and [s]et its gate on [his y]oungest son (Josh. vi, 26). Behold, an [accur]sed [man of Belial] [has risen] to be[com]e a fowler’s net to his people and a cause of destruction to all his neighbour[s]. And [his brother] arose [and ruled in li]es, both of them being instruments of violence. They have rebuilt [th]is [city] and have set up for it a wall and towers to make it a stronghold of ungodliness in Israel and a horror in Ephraim and in Judah and a great evil among the children of Jacob. [And they have com]mitted an abomination in the land and a great blasphemy and sh[ed blood] like wa[ters on the ramparts of the daughter] of Zion and in the precincts of Jerusalem ...
A Joshua Apocryphon (ii) (Masada 1039—211)
Two fragments detached from an apocryphal account of the end of the Book of Joshua are thought by their editor, S. Talmon, to have originated at Qumran. The composition belongs to the genre of ‘rewritten Bible’ and testifies to a freedom in retelling scriptural stories. The handwriting places the manuscript towards the turn of the era.
For a preliminary edition, see Shemaryahu Talmon, ‘Fragments of a Joshua Apocryphon—Masada 1039—211 (final photo 5254)’, JJS 47 (1996), 128—39.
Fr. A
... they were afraid ... [they were praising] the name of the Most High for they saw th[at ... God] was fighting for His people against their enemies [and they were not afraid ... ] because of them for God was with them and blessed them and sa[ve]d them. [And whatever] he said about them happened to them and no word [fe]ll to the ground, and He multiplied their [seed greatly].
The Samuel Apocryphon
(4Q160)
Fragments of an account of the story of Samuel from Cave 4 (4Q160), said to pertain to the second century BCE, were published by J. M. Allegro. They follow the first book of Samuel and include a narrative passage, a dialogue between Samuel and Eli, a prayer and an autobiographical discourse.
For the editio princeps, see J. M. Allegro and A. A. Anderson, DJD,V, 9—11.
Fr. 1
[F]or [I have s]worn [to] the house [of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli relating to sacrifices and offerings shall never be expiated. And] Samue[1] heard the words of the Lord ... [and] Samuel lay down before Eli. And he rose and opened the ga[tes of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid] to report to Eli the oracle. Answering, Eli said [to Samuel: Samuel, my son, let] me know the vision of God. Do not [hide it from me, pray! May God do to you thus and may He add to it] if you hide from me anything of the words that He spoke to you. [And] Samuel [reported all and hid nothing] ...
Frs. 3-5
... Thy servant. I have not restrained my strength until this (moment), for ... [let them] be gathered, O my God, to Thy people and be a help to it and raise it ... [and deliver] their [fe]e[t] from muddy clay [and] establish for them a rock from of old, for Thy praise [is over all the peo]ples. Thy people shall take refuge [in Thy house] ... Amid the rage of the enemies of Thy people, Thou shalt verify Thy glory [and] over the lands and seas ... and Thy fear is over [al]l... and kingdom. And all the peoples of Thy lands shall know [that] Thou hast created them ... and the multitudes shall understand that this is Thy people ... Thy holy ones whom Thou hast sanctified.
A Paraphrase on Kings
(4Q382)
154 papyrus fragments, palaeographically dated to the first half of the first century BCE, belong to a kind of paraphrase of the Books of Kings as various personal names (Jezebel, Ahab, Obadiah, Elijah, Elisha) clearly indicate. Only one fragment is extensive enough to allow intelligible translation. An unidentified speaker recounts events pertaining to the history of Israel in the form of an address to God.
For the editio princeps, see S. Olyan, DJD, XIII, 363—416.
Fr. 104
... from Thy word and to rely on Thy covenant and their heart be ... to sanctify Him/it ... hands so that they might be Thine, and Thou theirs and Thou be righteous ... For Thou wilt be a giver of an inheritance ... and lord over them and Thou wilt be a father to them and not ... Thou hast forsaken them to the hand of their kings and hast made them stumble among the people[s] ... not ... Thy life. Didst Thou give them [the Law?] by the hand of Moses ... Thy judgements and lifting the iniquity of Thy people to the heights ... Thy patience and the multitude [of mercies?] ...
An Elisha Apocryphon
(4Q481a)
Three minute fragments reproduce the Hebrew text of 2 Kings ii, 14—16 with paraphrastic supplements. Only fr. 2 can be partly reconstructed and translated. The opening words ‘[And] Elisha went up’ are without biblical parallel.
For the editio princeps, see J. Trebolle, DJD, XXII, 305—9.
Fr. 2
... [And] Elisha went up. [When the sons of the prophets who were over at Jericho] saw [him over against them, t
hey said, The spirit of Elijah rests over Elish]a. And they came to meet Elisha, [and bowed to the ground before him. And they said to him, Behold now, there are with your servants] fifty [strong] men; [pray, let them go, and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mou]nta[in or into some valley].
A Zedekiah Apocryphon
(4Q470)
Three badly damaged fragments of an early Herodian manuscript speak in favourable terms of the last Judaean king Zedekiah. He is depicted as conversing with the archangel Michael who promises to make a covenant with him. The Bible is less kind towards this evil-doer (2 Kgs xxiv, 19, etc.), but 4Q470 prefigures Josephus, who praises Zedekiah’s ‘goodness and sense of justice’ (Antiquities X, 120), and the Talmud (bShab. 149b; bSanh. 103a; bArak. 17a).