The Social Role of Liturgy in the Religion of the Qumran Community (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah)

279 Pages·2006·1.29 MB·English

by  Russell C. D. Arnold

The Social Role of Liturgy in the Religion of
the Qumran Community
Studies on the Texts of the
Desert of Judah
Edited by
Florentino García Martínez
Associate Editors
Peter W. Flint
Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar
VOLUME LX
The Social Role of Liturgy in
the Religion of the Qumran
Community
By
Russell C.D. Arnold
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2006
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISSN 0169-9962
ISBN-13: 978 90 04 15030 0
ISBN-10: 90 04 15030 7
© Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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CONTENTS
Preface viii
Introduction 1
1. The Levels of Meanings of Liturgy 16
2. Provenance of Qumran Liturgical Texts 18
2.1. Orthography and Language 18
2.2. Terminology 20
2.3. Formal Characteristics 21
2.4. Rhetorical Polemic 22
2.5. Problems in Determining Provenance of Liturgy
and Prayer 22
3. Liturgical Use of a Text 23
4. Plan for this Study 24
Chapter One Community Structure 26
1. Group Identity 29
1.1. Self-designations 33
1.2. Women 36
1.3. Corporate Identity and Hierarchy 38
2. Grid of Ideological Structures 40
2.1. Righteousness and Holiness 41
2.2. Calendar 43
2.3. Proper Speech 47
3. Summary 50
Chapter Two Rites of Passage 52
1. Initiation and Covenant Renewal Ceremony 54
1.1. Preparation 56
1.2. Entrance of New Initiates (1QS 1:16-2:1) 61
1.3. Blessings and Curses (1QS 2:1-18) 67
1.4. Entrance into the Serekh 70
1.5. Purification and Instruction (1QS 2:25-4:26) 71
1.6. Rebuke and Dismissal 75
2. Summary 80
Chapter Three Feasts and Fasts 81
1. Archaeological Evidence for Communal Meals at Qumran 83
1.1. Dining Rooms 83
1.2. Animal Remains 84
vi CONTENTS
2. Texts About Meals 85
2.1. 1QS 6:1-8 85
2.2. 1QSa 2:17-22 88
2.3. Tohorat HaRabim 90
2.4. Was there Grace after Meals? 92
3. Liturgical Context 94
4. Significance of the Meal 96
5. Summary 100
6. Excursus: The Role of Fasting at Qumran 101
Chapter Four Calendrical Rites 106
1. Calendar Texts 109
2. Evidence for Calendrical Rituals 111
3. Artifacts Relevant to Calendrical Rites 115
3.1. Sundial 115
3.2. Tefillin 116
4. Liturgical Texts Connected to Daily Rites 118
4.1. Daily Prayers (4Q503) 120
4.2. Words of the Luminaries (5Q504, 4Q506) 130
4.3. 4Q408-Liturgy on Morning and Evening Prayer 134
4.4. Summary of Daily Rites 136
5. Liturgical Texts Connected to Sabbath Rites 137
5.1. Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice
(4Q400-407; 11Q17; Mas1K) 138
6. Liturgical Texts Connected to Festival Rites 148
6.1. Festival Prayers (4Q507, 4Q508, 4Q509 + 4Q505) 149
6.2. Times for Praising God (4Q409) 154
7. Monthly Rites 156
8. Summary 157
Chapter Five Rites of Affliction 159
1. Curses 160
1.1. 1QS 2:4-18 161
1.2. 4QBera (4Q286) frg. 7 162
1.3. Curses (4Q280) frg. 2 163
1.4. Significance of Curses 164
2. Apotropaic Prayers and Incantations 165
2.1. Apotropaic Prayers 165
2.2. Incantations 166
3. Purification Rites 169
3.1. Tohorot (4Q274-278; 4Q514) 169
CONTENTS vii
3.2. Ritual of Purification (4Q512, 4Q414) 171
3.3. Purification Liturgy (4Q284) 181
4. Summary 184
Chapter Six Political Rites 187
1. Ranking the Members 188
2. Discipline 190
3. Authority of the Priesthood 193
3.1. Liturgy of the Tongues of Fire (4Q375, 4Q376, 1Q29) 194
3.2. The War Scroll (1QM, 4Q491-496) 197
3.3. Benedictions (1QSb) 199
4. Summary 203
Chapter Seven Rites of Communion 205
1. Hodayot 208
1.1. Liturgical Context 212
1.2. The Hodayot as Rites of Communion 214
2. Psalms 221
2.1. Communion Elements in 11QPsa 224
3. 4Q380-4Q381 227
4. Barkhi Nafshi 229
5. Summary 232
Conclusion 234
Bibliography 237
Indexes 253
PREFACE
The idea for this project was born in a “memorable” graduate seminar
at UCLA on Qumran Liturgical Texts. While reading and translating
the texts, I kept coming back to the question, “why?” Why did they
develop such practices? Why were they written in collections like
these? Why were they not more explicitly sectarian? To find answers
to such questions I recognized that I needed to understand more about
Qumran society itself, and understand the way liturgy works in that
specific society.
I am grateful to have been supported during the year of preliminary
research on this project by the Finkelstein Fellows Program at the
University of Judaism. In addition to financial support, an office and
an apartment, I received much encouragement and friendship from the
students and faculty of the University of Judaism. In my final year at
UCLA, the generous support of the UCLA Chancellor’s Dissertation
Year Fellowship allowed me to focus all my energy on the final stages
of writing. I am also grateful to Professor Florentino García Martínez
for accepting this work for publication in this esteemed series.
I am indebted to many individuals who have taught me over the
years and have, by their efforts, improved the quality of this work
immeasurably. All shortfalls and deficiencies of this work, however,
are my own. I would especially like to thank my graduate advisor, Dr.
William Schniedewind, for his support and friendship, and for his own
work, modeling the use of material culture and social approaches for
understanding the literature of ancient societies. Throughout this
process he challenged me to think holistically and broadly, while
making sure that I continued moving forward without getting too
bogged down. He was also instrumental in obtaining funding and
excellent teaching opportunities for me throughout my career at
UCLA. His example will influence me for many years to come.
Dr. Daniel K. Falk, whose own work on Qumran Liturgy guided me
at nearly every turn, graciously gave of his time to meet with me at
conferences, and provided very important feedback and guidance
regarding all aspects of this project. His knowledge, conscientiousness,
and kindness were a blessing to me and will be long appreciated. Drs.
Carol Bakhos and S. Scott Bartchy kindly provided important feedback
at various stages of the project. In addition to their help with this
project, they have become significant models of commitment to
PREFACE ix
undergraduate teaching and active involvement with students in the
study of religion. I know that I am a better teacher because of their
examples.
I would also like to thank a number of my friends and classmates at
UCLA who not only encouraged me all along the way, but also helped
me immensely by providing feedback on drafts of some of the
chapters: Bobby Duke, Ariella Radwin, Jeremy Smoak, Roger Nam,
and Peter Lanfer. To each of you I owe a debt, which I expect to repay
in the near future. My dear friend, Kym Peake, found the time in the
midst of moving to serve as my copy editor. Her diligence, expertise,
and giving spirit are greatly appreciated. I am also indebted to Richard
Miller who helped immeasurably in producing the index for this
volume.
Throughout this long process, I have received an amazing amount of
support and encouragement from my exceptional family. My sister-in-
law, Denise, could always be counted on to stand with me, getting
excited for me when I needed it or mad when I needed that. My In-
Laws, Ron and Jacquie, have done much to help me relax and forget
about my dissertation stress during our visits to their home in Santa
Cruz. My parents set high standards for me and always believed that I
could reach them. They have offered immeasurable support,
encouragement, sympathy, and hope throughout my life and
throughout this process. My brother, Jamie, has modeled for me an
approach to liturgy that is thoughtful and creative, and that has an eye
toward community formation. His influence, while not explicit in the
pages that follow, has fueled my interest in the ways liturgy works.
Finally, I hardly imagine how I could have made it through this
process without my wife, Ginger, my favorite. She has stood by me
every step of the way, helping me overcome my struggles and
celebrate my successes. She continues to inspire me to do better work
and keep an eye on the long-term goals. Her compassion and love is a
constant source of joy and hope in my life, keeping me looking
forward to what lies ahead for us, now that this stage of our lives is
completed. To this end, I dedicate this book to our first child, due to
arrive in June of this year.
Russ Arnold
Los Angeles, CA
May, 2006