Largely understood, ritual settings in the Dead Sea Scrolls not only include explicit communication with the divine (prayers, hymns, laments, worship, revelation, secret knowledge, visions, prophecy, study sessions, meditation) but also ritual practices as commanded, expected or appreciated by the divine (such as Sabbath observance, oaths, purification). Ritualization of action may take place in many ways; Grimes 2014, 185–230.
A brief introduction to the central sources discussed: Qumran manuscripts were discovered in the 1940–50s from eleven caves by the Dead Sea (1Q–11Q). Each (fragmentary) manuscript is given a numerical signum (e.g., 4Q266) and/or an abbreviation of the scholarly title given to the manuscript (such as 4QDa = Damascus Document, first manuscript version of many). Rule documents have rules and ideals about the formation, entry and assemblies of the movement: Community Rule (S = Serekh ha-Yahad), with Rule of the Congregation and Blessings (1QS-1QSa-1QSb, 4Q255–264, 5Q11) and Damascus Document (CD A, B, 4Q266–273, 5Q12, 6Q15). War Scroll (1QM, 4Q285, 4Q471, 4Q491–497, 11Q14) includes rules for the end-time war. Hodayot (1QHa‒b , 4Q427–432) is a large collection of psalms. Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–4Q407, 11Q17, Mas 1k) has (heavenly) Sabbath songs for the first quarter of a year. Berakhot (4Q286–290) have praise-blessings to God and curses against the opponents. Pesharim are commentaries on prophetic texts (e.g., Pesher Habakkuk 1QpHab). Temple Scroll (11QTa-b, 4Q524, 4Q365a) rewrites parts of the Pentateuch, with special focus on the temple. For brief introductions and a bibliography on central texts, see Brooke/Hempel 2016.
Some History of Scholarship
Divine names in the Dead Sea Scrolls have not attracted a great deal of attention besides the writing of the name Yhwh (Tetragrammaton) with distinct signs (Tetrapuncta = four dots, or Paleo-Hebrew letters in scrolls otherwise written in square script) and some interest in the use of El. The avoidance of the name Yhwh, the preference of the name El as well as the explicit prohibition of pronouncing some divine names in certain Qumran scrolls (1QS 6:27–7:1; CD 15:1) were noted early on. For example, Patrick Skehan (Skehan 1980) considered that the scribe of 1QS, 1QSa, 1QSb and 4QTest (4Q175) systematically preferred the name El over the name Yhwh, along with the use of Adonay, Elyon or Tetrapuncta. The name Yhwh was also replaced by El in citations, e.g., 1QSb 5:25. He noted that the scribes of the Hodayot and the War Scroll followed the same practice, but stressed the liturgical context of the Hodayot: the name El is also used in direct address to God and is sometimes written in Paleo-Hebrew letters. Skehan also discussed the Greek evidence and identified a mixture of practices, from the use of the divine name, to the use of Hebrew square script or Paleo-Hebrew in Greek texts, and finally the use of Kyrios to replace both Yhwh and Adonay (Lieberman 1951; Siegel 1971; Siegel 1972; Stegemann 1969; Stegemann 1978. Stegemann 1978, 198).
The term כבוד” glory” may denote the divine presence, even the glorious substance of the divine body or divine appearance (see McClellan 2022, 146–154; Burton 2017; de Vries 2016). In the scrolls, the praying and praising person turns to the divine kavod/Kavod (e.g., 1QS 10:9, 12). Thomas Wagner argues that the glory of God is like the visible aspect of God and gains a feature of an independent divine entity (Wagner 2013). Glory is a characteristic similar to קדוש,” holy,” to signify elements of the divine realm.
Clear evidence exists of the non-use of the Yhwh in the Aramaic literary material, whereas the closely connected Hebrew material (especially in Ezra and Daniel) continued to use it. The Aramaic epigraphic material from the same period testifies to the use of the Tetragrammaton in various short forms (יהו ,יהה ,יה, especially Elephantine papyri) (Meyer 2022, 118–129). Furthermore, varied titles and epithets exist in Aramaic: for example, in Qumran Enochic manuscripts of the Book of Giants, the scribes “experiment with unique portrayals of the Jewish deity,” and use various epithets such as קדישה”) Holy One”), רבא”) Great One”), and שמיא שלטן”) Ruler of Heaven”) (Meyer 2022, 92–94).
Case Studies: Ban of Using the Divine Name in Oaths?
What could be the motivation behind the ban of using the divine name in the Qumran movement and what is the scope of said ban, given that it obviously did not extend to the writing of the divine name?
These rules are not explicit bans against pronouncing the divine (proper) name in any situation, but rather rules about oaths and honouring the name with proper behaviour, possibly with special attention to ritual contexts. Lichtenberger 2018 interprets the scribal practices testified by the scrolls and other evidence to be primarily about the veneration of the divine name, “independent of any reading or pronunciation practice” (142). From a ritual studies perspective, even if the D and S bans were interpreted as a natural continuation of the Decalogue’s commandment not to use the divine name in false oath (Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11) or otherwise defile the name (Lev 24:16) (Lichtenberger 2018, 153–154), their practical observance calls for special ritual attention, similar to other avoidance behaviour and taboos like Sabbath observance or purity rules.
Case Studies: The Efficacy of the Divine Name
The divine name is attested to have had efficacy, that is, (magical) power to function on earth. Several scrolls are associated with exorcism, warding off evil spirits or general protection from evil: Apocryphal Psalms (11Q11); Exorcism (4Q560); Hymn (8Q5); Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511); Incantation (4Q444); Hymn (6Q18) (Bohak 2008, 105–112; Brand 2013, 198–217; Eshel 2003, 395–415). In some of these, it is specifically the divine name that is invoked for the exorcism (Lichtenberger 2018, 140–160 (148–152). For the rise of praises, see Pajunen 2015b). The better preserved Davidic psalm in 5:4–6:3 includes an exorcism against Satan in the name of Yhwh (Pajunen 2015a, 146). It is the power of the divine name that is believed to be the basis for the incantation. Satan is addressed directly and ridiculed as offspring product of illegitimate union, his appearance being mere darkness and emptiness, not even frightening. Unlike the evil spirits that may cause illnesses, Satan is also understood to cause moral deviance; his prison will be the Sheol where the sun does not rise as it rises for the righteous. Yhwh is written in square script as in the rest of the manuscript.
- Case Studies: Divine Manifestation in Praise
Several Qumran prayer and liturgical texts include heavenly scenes and descriptions of beings or items that join in praise or are themselves elements of the divine praise or wonder. A significant aspect for us is that the boundaries between the ones praising and one(s) being praised are often blurred. These texts also often refer to elim, holy beings or angels, and have no difficulty with the idea of gods or god-like beings praising the God of gods or King of kings (Ben-Dov 2016; Kratz 2017). The wellknown epithet “the living God” is similarly reused in portraying the “living gods” of the heavenly temple, who are even carved on the temple vestibules (4Q405 14–15 i 5) (Mizrahi 2018, 161–192). The heavenly beings are thus rightly called אלוהים, gods; they are not angels in the sense of transmitting messages to earth (Mizrahi 2018, 185), but rather divine beings that exemplify the divinity. The language of divine beings and God is also otherwise aligned and creative. For example, in the seventh song (starting in 4Q403 1 i 30), each call to praise has a distinct thematic key word and divine titles cannot really be separated from their characterisations. Furthermore, royal language is strong in the Songs in general. We find “King” as the divine title several times, as well as אלוהים מלך,” King of gods” (4Q400 2 5), and ים[כ֯ מל מלך, “King of kings” (4Q403 1 i 34). In the sixth song, הכבוד מלך,” King of glory,” הטוב מלך,” King of goodness,” הקדוש מלך,” King of holiness,” appear (partly reconstructed) with the corresponding titles with אל or אלוהים”) God of glory,” “God of goodness,” “God of holiness;” see Tab. 1).
