Thanksgiving Hymn #7&8
4QH(odayot)a col. 10
Paraphrase and
comments by Robert Hermansky
Introduction:
Lawrence
H. Schiffman wrote that it is tempting to regard the Thanksgiving Scroll as a
series of hymns for public worship. This is what I perceived them to be at
first. After researching it further, I discovered that there has been no
evidence discovered that concludes or supports this. The passages were probably
written by the leader of a sect or church. Some scholars believe that it was
written by the Teacher of the Righteousness. The poems belong to a devotion of
some sort by the people for their God. This can be cross referenced with the
Songs of the Sabbath; where God in the heavens was praised daily according to
fixed rituals. Later it was discovered that it was not a praise of God by
people on earth, but the angles' praise of God in heaven.
After
further exploration, I found that the Hymns of Thanksgiving could have been
used to have the spiritual effect of the individual members of the community.
Penetrating them and therefore dominating their spirit as if being controlled
by a force. The author of these passages, assumed to be the Teacher of
Righteousness, gives a vivid description of mankind being 'in sin,' the
constant struggle with the forces of evil around him, mankind having bad
temptations from birth to death.
Another
interesting point in the 1st fragment is the use of the word Belial. This word
was substituted for the Angel of Darkness. Is Belial conceived to be a real
person in the Hymns or is the author speaking in general terms of mankind? This
use of the word Belial or Angel of Darkness also refers to the Teacher of
Righteousness who uses this word in his frequent works, ( 1QH 2:16, 4:10, 4:13,
5:26, 5:39, 6:21, 7:3).
Paraphrase:
Hymn #7 (formerly 2):
I[1] give thanks to you, Lord, because you have
placed me in the circle of life and guided me against the evils of the world.
Violent men[2] have threatened my life
because of my faith in you Lord. For they are an assembly of trickery and a crowd
of evil, the do not know that through you I live and in your compassion you
will spare me in my soul. Because of you they raid[3]
my life to spite you by the judgement of the wicked. But you give me strength
in the faces of the unworthy. And I said, mighty men have pitched their camps
and swarmed against[4] me with all the
temptations of unjustly things. They have begun things which have no cure, no
stopping. Their weapons of evil engulf the land like a tidal wave upon the
shore. Like a wave of destruction devouring a multitude of men. Temptation rose
inside me but my soul clung to the faith of you Lord. They have fallen to the
destruction of each other which they brought on themselves, but I will not fall
to the rein of their destruction,[5] for
I keep upon level ground and apart from them I will bless you Lord.
Hymn #8 (formerly 3):
I
give thanks to you, Lord, for you have [fastened][6]
your eye upon me. You have save me from the passion of lying deception, and
from the congregation[7] of those who seek
wealth. You have blessed the soul of the poor one who planned to destroy me by
spilling my blood while I was at service to you. But they did not know that my
soul belonged to you, so they made a mockery of me in the mouths of all that
seek for lies. [...] But you, my Lord, have restored the faith of the poor and
the needy against one stronger than me;[8]
you have saved my soul from the hand of the mighty. You have not permitted
their insults to pursue me into craving their service. [9]
Footnotes:
[1]
Refers to the author of the story
[2] The violent men is referring to the unbelievers or sinners of faith
[3] Raid meaning to make mockery of
[4] 'pitched their camps and swarmed against' refers to the unbelievers
tempting his true faith
[5] This phrase states how "he" cannot be tempted and will keep
prayers with the Lord
[6] Word added by authors but expected to mean taken notice of
[7] Congregation meaning groups of people
[8] This phrase refers to the Lords will to save the poor and the needy against
the retched sinners
[9] Their service meaning sin or greed
Bibliography:
Jerome
Murphy-O'Connor and James H. Charlesworth, Paul
and the Dead Sea Scrolls, foreword copyright 1990, pg. 87-89, 96-100.
Raymond
E. Brown, John and the Dead Sea Scrolls,
foreword copyright 1990, pg. 26-46, 30-37, 112.
Lawrence
H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea
Scrolls, foreword copyright by Chaim Potok, 1994, pg. 301.
Weiss,
Abegg and Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls:
Translated Edition, copyright 1994, pg. 84.
prepared for Intro. to the Hebrew Bible
<http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Courses/HebBib>
by Robert Hermansky
HermansR@albnet.alb.edu mailto:HermanskyR@albnet.alb.edu