Prayer For King
Jonathan
4Q448
Parchment
Copied between 103-76 B.C.E.
Height 17.8 cm (7 in.), length 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (2)
The King
Jonathan mentioned in this text can be none other than Alexander Jannaeus, a
monarch of the Hasmonean dynasty who ruled Judea from 103 to 76 B.C.E. The
discovery of a prayer for the welfare of a Hasmonean king among the Qumran
texts is unexpected because the community may have vehemently opposed the
Hasmoneans. They even may have settled in the remote desert to avoid contact
with the Hasmonean authorities and priesthood. If this is indeed a composition
that clashes with Qumran views, it is a single occurrence among 600
non-biblical manuscripts. However, scholars are exploring the possibility that
Jonathan-Jannaeus, unlike the other Hasmonean rulers, was favored by the Dead
Sea community, at least during certain periods, and may explain the prayer's
inclusion in the Dead Sea materials.
This text is
unique in that it can be clearly dated to the rule of King Jonathan. Three
columns of script are preserved, one on the top and two below. The upper column
(A) and the lower left (C) column are incomplete. The leather is torn along the
lower third of the right margin. A tab of untanned leather, 2.9 by 2.9 cm,
folds over the right edge above the tear. A leather thong, remains of which
were found threaded through the middle of the leather tab on the right edge,
probably tied the rolled-up scroll. The form of the tab--probably part of a
fastening--seems to indicate that the extant text was at the beginning of the
scroll, which was originally longer. Differences between the script of Column A
and that of B and C could indicate that this manuscript is not the work of a
single scribe.
This small
manuscript contains two distinct parts. The first, column A, presents fragments
of a psalm of praise to God. The second, columns B and C, bear a prayer for the
welfare of King Jonathan and his kingdom. In column A lines 8-10 are similar to
a verse in Psalm 154, preserved in the Psalms Scroll (11QPsa) exhibited here.
This hymn, which was not included in the biblical Book of Psalms, is familiar,
however, from the tenth-century Syriac Psalter.
Reference:
Eshel,
E., H. Eshel, and A. Yardeni. "A Qumran Scroll Containing Part of Psalm
154 and a Prayer for the Welfare of King Jonathan and His Kingdom," Israel
Exploration Journal, forthcoming.
English
Translation of Prayer For King Jonathan (Tefillah li-Shlomo shel Yonatan
ha-Melekh)
4Q448
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (2)
Column A
1. Praise the Lord, a
Psalm [of
2. You loved as a
fa[ther(?)
3. you ruled over [
4. vacat [
5. and your foes were
afraid (or: will fear) [
6. ...the heaven [
7. and to the depths of
the sea [
8. and upon those who
glorify him [
9. the humble from the
hand of adversaries [
10. Zion for his habitation, ch[ooses
Column C Column B
1. because you love
Isr[ael 1. holy city
2. in the day and until
evening [ 2. for king Jonathan
3. to approach, to be
[ 3. and all the
congregation
of your people
4. Remember them for
blessing [ 4. Israel
5. on your name, which is
called [ 5. who are in the four
6. kingdom to be blessed
[ 6. winds of heaven
7. ]for the day of war
[ 7. peace be (for) all
8. to King Jonathan [ 8. and upon your kingdom
9. 9. your name be blessed
Transcription
and translation by E. Eshel, H. Eshel, and A. Yardeni