Sabbath Sacrifice Research Articles

‮ממולח טוהר‬‎: Qumranic and Medieval Exegesis

Abstract The phrase ‮ממולח טוהר‬‎ appears four times in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, describing the firmament and the angels’ garments. John Strugnell, followed by most scholars, proposed that the phrase be understood as “purely blended.” An examination of the context in which the phrase appears in the Songs supports the possibility that its use began as a reference to the brightness of the firmament and was then extended to apply to the angels’ garments. Our review of the semantic field of the four roots common to the descriptions of the preparation of the incense, the garments, and the firmament—‮דק״ק‬‎, ‮מל״ח‬‎, ‮רק״ע‬‎, and ‮שח״ק‬‎—(a semantic field that was already recognized by the medieval Hebrew grammarians) strengthens the claim of Jean Carmignac, rejected by most scholars, that ‮ממולח‬‎ means “thin and fine.” In my opinion, the phrase ‮ממולח טוהר‬‎ is to be understood as “characterized by a thin, fine brightness.”

Repentance and Compassion in 4Q400–405 Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Are the Deputy Princes in Song Eight Angelic or Human Beings?

The pervasive ambiguity in 4QSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (SOSS) presents a major problem: When are the activities described in this text performed by angels and when by humans? This paper builds on research on Songs One, Seven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Knowledge in SOSS that hypothesised that as the liturgy proceeds through the thirteen songs of SOSS a gradual transition takes place in the human participants. In Song Six, seven chief princes initially bless God and then proceed to bless various other participants in the liturgy, concluding with “those who wait for Him … for a return of His gracious compassion.” Song Seven, in the middle of the liturgy, describes angelic messenger activity arising from the throne of God, based on Ezekiel’s merkebah chapters. After Song Seven, a dramatic change takes place. In Song Eight, those who do the blessing are no longer “chief” princes, but “deputy” princes. The hypothesis of this article is that these deputy princes are the “people of discernment” introduced in Song One, who, having expressed repentance and persevered in joint exaltation of God with the “holiest of holy ones,” have been transformed into “god-like” messengers of God, to convey God’s compassion to those “who wait for Him.” This paper refers to recent cognitive neuroscience insights in order to, to some extent, support Fletcher-Louis’s proposal of a fluid identity achieved by the participants in the liturgy as a “community of human priests as God’s angels.” In its focus on repentance, compassion, and messenger activity, SOSS may be a witness to the beginnings of a new way of achieving atonement.

Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins.

Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins.

The Liturgical Communion of the Yaḥad with the Angels

Abstract Since the discoveries of the first Dead Sea Scrolls, the motif of a communion with the angels has been repeatedly emphasized and discussed as a characteristic of the self-understanding of the community behind these writings. Of particular interest in this discussion are the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–407; 11Q17; and Mas1k ShirShabb). However, the origin of the so-called Angelic Liturgy is still an unresolved question in scholarship. In this article we will try to figure out the relationship of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice to the sectarian literature by analyzing the communion with the angels described therein. I will demonstrate that this composition has the most explicit connections to the liturgical communion with the angels that is uniquely found in undisputed sectarian texts. The Angelic Liturgy is then not so much the source, but much more an example of the liturgical development inside the yaḥad.

Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today

Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today

The Princes in 4QSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, Songs Six and Eight: Are They Angelic or Human?

The pervasive ambiguity in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (SOSS) presents a major problem: When are the activities described in this text performed by angels and when by humans? This article builds on previous research on Songs One, Seven, Twelve, Thirteen, and knowledge in SOSS that hypothesized that as the liturgy proceeds through the thirteen songs of 4QSOSS a gradual transition takes place in the human participants. In Song Six the seven chief princes initially bless God and then proceed to bless “all councils in the sanctuary, and those who have knowledge of eternal things,” “those whose way is perfect,” “all who wait for Him … for a return of His gracious compassion.” The following song, significantly the middle of the liturgy, describes angelic messenger activity arising from the throne of God, based on Ezekiel’s merkebah chapters. After Song Seven, a dramatic change takes place. In Song Eight those who do the blessing are no longer “chief” princes, but “deputy” princes. The hypothesis of this article is that these deputy princes are the “people of discernment” introduced in Song One, who, having persevered in joint exaltation of God with the “holiest of holy ones,” are enabled to become “god-like” messengers of God, to convey God’s compassion to those “who wait for Him.”

Engelgemeinschaft im irdischen Gottesdienst: Studien zu Texten aus Qumran und dem Neuen Testament by Michael R. Jost

Reviewed by: Engelgemeinschaft im irdischen Gottesdienst: Studien zu Texten aus Qumran und dem Neuen Testament by Michael R. Jost Christian Gers-Uphaus michael r. jost, Engelgemeinschaft im irdischen Gottesdienst: Studien zu Texten aus Qumran und dem Neuen Testament (WUNT 2/505; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019). Pp. xvi + 456. Paper €104. Michael Reno Jost’s study is based on his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Bern in Switzerland (2018). His goal is to analyze the motif of the liturgical communion with the angels in early Jewish writings as well as in the NT. This volume is divided into four main sections (“Alttestamentliche und frühjüdische Aspekte,” “Gottesdienstliche Engelgemeinschaft in Texten vom Toten Meer,” “Gottesdienstliche Engelgemeinschaft in neutestamentlichen Texten,” and “Rabbinische und patristische Perspektiven”), along with an introduction and a summary. The introductory chapter provides not only an overview of the scope and structure of [End Page 122] the entire study but also clarifies certain key words like “community,” “liturgy,” “angel(s),” and “liturgical community with the angels.” J. offers a traditio-historical approach to this topic, and, in addition to that, addresses the question of whether a text has also a “performative” (p. 7) aspect, which he assumes to be the case if a text represents not only literature but a liturgy. For those particular kinds of texts J. also analyzes their “social” (p. 8) and “spiritual” (p. 9) functions. In part 1, J. approaches the topic by looking for key aspects in texts from the OT and early Judaism that might be of interest for a research project like the present one. Without yet drawing any traditio-historical developments, he mentions here aspects such as the temple as the place for God’s presence, the presence of the heavenly cherubim in the temple, the vision of the seraphim in the temple (Isaiah 6), the cosmic doxology in the Book of Psalms, the mutual celebration of the Sabbath on earth and in heaven, the angels’ assistance during prayer, and the eschatological community with the angels. In part 2, J. addresses the question of the liturgical communion with the angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls. After a short general introduction, J. mainly analyzes the Community Rule (1QS), the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QHa), the Rule of the Blessing (1QSb), the Daily Prayers (4Q503), the Words of the Luminaries (4Q504), the Songs of the Sageb (4Q511), the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (also referred to as the Angelic Liturgy [4Q400–407; 11Q17; and Mas1k]), and three shorter passages from 4Q181, 4Q286, and 4Q301. J.’s analysis leads to a very diverse picture that emerges from the Qumranic texts on the matter of liturgical communion with the angels. He therefore recommends a threefold distinction between a cosmic, a liturgical, and an eschatological communion with the angels regarding the writings from the Dead Sea. Subsequently, in part 3, J. approaches the image of the liturgical communion with the angels with regard to NT writings, predominantly 1 Corinthians, Hebrews, and Revelation, but also Ephesians and Colossians. He concludes that only very few texts in the NT address the topic of a liturgical communion. He points out, moreover, that there is not even one text that describes this communion between angels and humans as one actually happening during liturgy. The communion with the angels, still widely attested in the texts from the Dead Sea, in the NT now somehow gets replaced by the communion with Christ. In part 4, J. considers rabbinic and patristic aspects of the liturgical communion with the angels. Since the rabbis do not expect to receive a new Torah at the end of days but a final and full understanding of the Torah already received, it is not surprising that the motif of the liturgical community with the angels is of less importance in halakic literature. Angels, as heavenly messengers, are not really needed anymore. In contrast, community with the angels gets more attention in the haggadic literature. J.’s study of the patristic sources leads to a similar outcome, showing that different concepts of community with the angels existed at the same time. He finds that in the fourth century c.e. the interest lies more and more in...

Knowledge (d't) in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice

The subject of knowledge is stressed in the introduction of Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, and repeatedly mentioned throughout this cycle of thirteen songs, frequently in connection with holiness. In the end the liturgy joyously proclaims that “the chiefs of praise-offering” have divine knowledge. Second Temple Judaism had differing ideologies of knowledge. This article attempts to understand the stress on knowledge and the connection with holiness in this text. The research method was to extract and list the word d't wherever it appears in a coherent context in the entire liturgy. Then, the sequential development of this concept of knowledge was examined to try to understand what it would have meant to the author and participants in the liturgy. The conclusion of this article strengthens the hypothesis of earlier research on the individual songs that the pervasive ambiguity was deliberately crafted for rhetorical purposes in order to convey a mystical sense of a temporary transformation in order to gain divine knowledge during participation in the holy liturgy.

Illuminating Genetic Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The discovery of the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls had an incomparable impact on the historical understanding of Judaism and Christianity. "Piecing together" scroll fragments is like solving jigsaw puzzles with an unknown number of missing parts. We used the fact that most scrolls are made from animal skins to "fingerprint" pieces based on DNA sequences. Genetic sorting of the scrolls illuminates their textual relationship and historical significance. Disambiguating the contested relationship between Jeremiah fragments supplies evidence that some scrolls were brought to the Qumran caves from elsewhere; significantly, they demonstrate that divergent versions of Jeremiah circulated in parallel throughout Israel (ancient Judea). Similarly, patterns discovered in non-biblical scrolls, particularly the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, suggest that the Qumran scrolls represent the broader cultural milieu of the period. Finally, genetic analysis divorces debated fragments from the Qumran scrolls. Our study demonstrates that interdisciplinary approaches enrich the scholar's toolkit.

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, Song Thirteen: Ambiguity, Mysticism, and Cognitive Neuroscience

A striking characteristic of Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice is the lack of clarity as to when the participants are human and when angelic. Scholarly opinion has been divided on the question. Fletcher-Louis, for instance, argued for an “angelomorphic” theology in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Scholars regard this text as an example of mysticism at Qumran, but the root of the term “mystic” (to conceal) warns of the difficulties inherent in any analysis of mystical texts because such texts arise from religious experience of a transcendent divine presence only accessible subjectively. In a previous article on ambiguity in the First Song it was argued in support of Fletcher-Louis that the text was deliberately constructed to create ambiguity between angelic agents and sectarian participants for rhetorical purposes. This article resorts to insights from cognitive neuroscience in order to reconsider current scholarly opinion on this matter.

Ambiguity in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: 4Q400, the First Song

The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice seem to have been intended for communal worship for a group with a strong priestly identity, but ambiguity of terminology with respect to whether angelic or priestly participation is intended is pervasive throughout the text. This article compares examples of ambiguity in terminology for divine beings in the first Song to lexical equivalents in the Hebrew Bible. This introductory Song, 4Q400, appears to be concerned with the establishment of priests to serve in the holy of holies in a context similar to the ancient mythological Divine Council, but the human requirements of repentance, purification, and holiness appear to be central. In view of the multivalent quality of poetry in general, possible alternate readings to those of Carol Newsom are considered. The cumulative effect of various ambiguous indications in the rest of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice is also taken into account. The possibility that the ambiguity is deliberately employed to create fluidity between godlike beings and participants in the liturgy is discussed. The possible significance of such a conclusion is considered in terms of what purpose a deliberately structured fluidity between angelic beings and sectarians could serve, for instance in terms of Fletcher-Louis’s (2002) suggestion that the “theological anthropology” may have ascribed an angelic or divine identity to the righteous.

From Adapa to Enoch: Scribal Culture and Religious Vision in Judea and Babylon by Seth L. Sanders

Reviewed by: From Adapa to Enoch: Scribal Culture and Religious Vision in Judea and Babylon by Seth L. Sanders David M. Carr seth l. sanders, From Adapa to Enoch: Scribal Culture and Religious Vision in Judea and Babylon (TSAJ 167; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016). Pp. xiv + 280. €120. This book is an epigraphically focused exploration of scribal consciousness and interrelationships of Babylonian and Judean scribal cultures, with a focus (in the case of the latter) on the Second Temple period. The body of the book starts with a substantial chapter providing a richly detailed overview of the invocation of the figure of Adapa in a variety of genres of Mesopotamian literature, not just the iterations of the myth of Adapa and the South Wind and at the head of lists of primeval sages (apkallū), but also in a widely circulated incantation collection (udug.hul, "evil demons"), several Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, catalogues of texts and authors, and (with the demise of native kingship) even identification of Adapa as the founder of massive Resh temple of Seleucid-period Uruk (and named author in a catalogue fragment found there). Based on this broad survey, Sanders argues that Adapa was the most prominent image in Mesopotamia of a human figure who traveled to heaven, was enthroned there, and mastered the secrets of the universe. As such, S. argues that Adapa is the most likely model for later Judean elaboration of the figure of Enoch in Second Temple Judaism, rather than the figure of Enmeduranki, who is often seen as Enoch's precursor. S. notes that Enmeduranki is noted as communing with the gods only in two somewhat idiosyncratic Neo-Assyrian texts, and he does not even clearly travel to heaven in them (cf. Adapa and Enoch). In chaps. 2 and 6, S. draws on a variety of theoretical resources to explore how Mesopotamian ritual texts about Adapa (chap. 2) and Qumran texts (chap. 6) provide scripts by which textual professionals could participate in the divine realm. In the case of Mesopotamia, exorcistic and divinitory texts provided a means by which scribes could take on the masterful persona (//mask) of Adapa in order to draw on divine power. Similarly, in the case of Qumran, texts such as the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice and the Self-Glorification Hymn (see esp. 4Q491) reconfigure elements of Daniel 11–12 and other biblical texts to provide a textual means by which readers at Qumran could join the heavenly council of the holy ones. Both bodies of literature, so S., are crafted in a scribal context that does not distinguish linguistic (social) and natural orders the way Westerners are prone to do, so that Adapa-like textual mastery of these literary scripts can provide cosmic mastery and communion with divine beings. The intervening chapters (3–5) build a history of how Second Temple Jewish scribes came to adopt and reframe Babylonian science. In chap. 3, S. argues for a movement from the preexilic use of "unproblematic language of direct perception of God" (p. 110; e.g., Amos 7:7; Isaiah 6; and the Micaiah vision of 1 Kings 22) to extended Ezekielian discourses about visions of God that are approximate (a likeness, ), mediated, and often distinctively somatic (introduced by "hand of Yhwh" [] language; e.g., Ezek 1:3; 40:1). In chap. 4, S. then looks at how Ezekiel's visionary emphasis and focus on exactitude in dating and measurement (in the temple vision of chaps. 40–48) is continued in later Enochic literature. That literature, however, is distinguished from earlier biblical literature that was hostile to Babylonian science (e.g., Deut 4:19) in now narratively depicting a Torah figure, Enoch, being "shown" Babylonian-like calculations (e.g., 4Q209 frag. 25, line 3) and other [End Page 124] astronomical wisdom. In this way, S. sees Enoch's revelation as being introduced in a way analogous to Priestly language of Moses "being shown" the pattern of the Priestly tabernacle (Exod 25:40; 26:30; see also 27:8). In chap. 5, S. explores the possible means by which such Babylonian science might have found its way into Second Temple Judean apocalyptic texts. He provides an overview of...

THE VISION OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL IN QUMRAN LITERATURE

The article deals with the adaptation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel in the literature of Qumran, namely, in two texts of a liturgical nature - “4QBerakhot” and “The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice”. Quotes and allusions to the book of Ezekiel are used in these works for mental prayer movement into the heavenly halls of God and their visualization. These works support the tradition of interpreting the vision of Ezekiel, which formed in the Old Testament apocryphal literature - the image from the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel develops through the continuation of the objectification of certain parts of the vision to worship them, or their subsequent animation as participants in the “The Angelic Liturgy”. The purpose of the study is to reveal the peculiarities of biblical exegesis during the Second Temple period by the example of interpreting the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. The subject of the research is Qumran literature.

The Movement of Ezekiel’s “Living Beings” in 4Q405 Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat. Part II: The Twelfth Song

In this article descriptions of angelic movement in the Twelfth Song are compared to descriptions of such activity arising from the throne of God in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 1 and 10, and to that in the Seventh Song as contained in scroll 4Q403. The penultimate Twelfth Song of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice culminates in a more explicit description of angelic messenger activity and in other nuances. The Twelfth Song was intended to be read on the Sabbath immediately following Shavu’ot, when the traditional synagogue reading is Ezekiel 1 and Exodus 19–20. The possible significance for the author of Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice of the connection between the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai and Ezekiel’s vision where merkebah thrones and seats appear in the plural form is considered in the conclusion

The Poetics of Angelic Discourse: Revelation 2–3 and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice

Revelation extensively employs the number seven not only as a symbolic figure, but also as a structural principle for constructing sevenfold literary units, and yet some specific aspects of this literary hallmark remain obscure. Among other things, no satisfactory rationale has been found, so far, for the series of proclamations to seven churches of Asia Minor that comprise the literary unit of Rev. 2–3. This mystery, however, can be illuminated (at least to some degree) by reading Revelation against the background of poetic traditions of the Second Temple period. Analysis of a poem included in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice – a liturgical composition whose fragmentary copies were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls – prompts a new solution to the questions posed by Rev. 2–3. At the same time, the comparison also sheds light on some literary peculiarities of the Songs.

Angelic Aspects of Ezekiel’s ‘Living Beings’ in 4Q403 Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat. Part I: The Seventh Song

The main features of the Seventh Song are the call to praise and angelic activity. Certain descriptions of the movement of Ezekiel’s “living beings” in Ezekiel 1 and 10 are echoed in the description of angelic activity in 4Q403 fragments 1i and 1ii which contain the Seventh Song of Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat). This article compares passages in the Seventh Song which relate semantically and, to some extent, lexically to specific aspects of angelic movement already identified in previous research on Ezekiel 1 and 10. It is hypothesised that the crucial phrase “in their undertakings/missions” indicates that the author of Shirot ‘Olat Hashabbat recognised the underlying description of angelic messenger activity in Ezekiel 1 and 10, and developed it further in the Seventh Song.

Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions

Introduction: 'In Heaven as it is on Earth' Ra'anan S. Bouston and Annette Yoshiko Reed Part I. Between Earth and Heaven: 1. The bridge and the ladder: narrow passages in late antique visions Fritz Graf 2. 'Heavenly Steps': Manilius 4.119-121 and its background Katharina Volk 3. Heavenly ascent, angelic descent, and the transmission of knowledge in 1 Enoch 6-16 Annette Yoshiko Reed 4. 'Connecting Heaven and Earth': the function of the hymns in Revelation 4-5 Gottfried Schimanowski 5. Working overtime in afterlife or, no rest for the virtuous Sarah Iles Johnson Part II. Institutionalising Heaven: 6. Earthly sacrifice and heavenly incense: the law of priesthood in Aramaic Levi and Jubilees Martha Himmelfarb 7. Who's on the throne?: revelation in the long year John W. Marshall 8. The earthly monastery and the transformation of the heavenly city in late antique Egypt Kirsti B. Copeland 9. Contextualising heaven in third-century North Africa Jan N. Bremmer 10. Bringing the heavenly academy down to earth: approaches to the imagery of divine pedagogy in the East-Syrian tradition Adam H. Becker Part III. Tradition and Innovation: 11. Angels in the architecture: temple art and the poetics of praise in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice Ra'anan S. Bouston 12. The collapse of celestial and chthonic realms in late antique 'Appollonian Invocation' (PGMI 262-347) Christopher A. Faraone 13. In heaven as it is in hell: the cosmology of Seder Rabbah di-Bereshit Peter Schafer 14. The faces of the moon: cosmology, genesis and the Mithras Liturgy Radcliffe G. Edmonds III 15. 'O Paradoxical Fusion!': Gregory of Nazianzus on baptism and cosmology (Orations 38-40) Susanna Elm.

Liturgical Progression and the Experience of Transformation in Prayers from Qumran

A distinctive feature of the prayer collections found at Qumran is that they have different prayers for each day of the week, month, Sabbath, festival, purification ritual, and so on. In the cases of the Words of the Luminaries and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, these different prayers construct a liturgical progression over the course of the cycle. I argue that this is to engender a progressive religious experience among the worshipers: over the course of the week towards confident approach to God in preparation for Sabbath, and over the course of Sabbaths in the quarter towards ritual transformation. Moreover, I propose that the Daily Prayers and Festival Prayers may also form an intentional liturgical progression over the cycle. If so, I would also suggest that in the liturgical cycle as a whole, there is in the daily ritual scripted experience of the larger cycles.

The Cycle of Summons: A Hymn from the Seventh Song of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q403 1i 31–40)

The article investigates, by way of close reading, the literary unit that opens the seventh among the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. The study begins with a text-critical analysis of the poem based on its extant witnesses, including the many corrections contained in its best preserved copy (4Q403 1i 31–40). It then advances a new proposal concerning the poetic structure of the text, relying on linguistic and stylistic evidence. The literary delineation allows one to discern the generic characteristics of the poem, which place it within the tradition of scriptural hymns. These form-critical insights form the basis for a renewed and nuanced appreciation of the theological message of the hymn.

TheSongs of the Sabbath Sacrificeand Biblical Priestly Literature: A Linguistic Reconsideration

TheSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, a liturgical composition whose fragments were discovered among the Dead Sea scrolls, comprises thirteen songs that describe the heavenly temple and the angels who serve in it as priests and whose main ritual duty is to praise and glorify God.1These topics are taken commonly to indicate that theSongswas composed in priestly circles, stems from classical priestly traditions, and reflects a priestly agenda and worldview. Thus, for instance, a priestly provenance of theSongswas entertained by Johann Maier.2Israel Knohl also detected a continuation of priestly traditions and conceptions in theSongs.3The prominent proponent of this view is Rachel Elior, who presented a sweeping synthesis according to which a direct and continuous tradition leads from biblical priestly literature, through sectarian writings from Qumran—and theSongsin particular—toHekhalotliterature. In her view, these texts exhibit numerous thematic, ideological, and terminological affinities that prove that they are parts of a single, well-defined stream of tradition, nurtured by priestly circles.4