The Sefer ha-Milhamah — the Book of War — is a fragmentary Hebrew text from Qumran Cave 4, related to the War Scroll but distinct from it. It contains the famous Fragment 5, in which the Prince of the Congregation — identified as the Branch of David — executes judgment, a passage that sparked intense scholarly debate about whether the Messiah is the one who kills or is killed. Other fragments describe eschatological warfare against the Kittim and a beautiful priestly blessing promising rain, abundance, and the presence of holy angels. This translation works directly from the Hebrew transcription of García Martínez and Tigchelaar.
Fragment 2
[...] from among the congregation [...] wealth and profit [...] and you shall eat [...] for them, graves [...] all their slain [...] they shall return [...] [...]
Fragments 6 + 4
[...] wickedness shall be struck [...] the Prince of the Congregation and all Israel [...] which is written [...] upon the mountains [...] the Kittim. vacat
[...] the Prince of the Congregation as far as the great sea [...] and they shall flee from Israel at that time [...] he shall stand against them and they shall be stirred against them [...] and they shall return to dry land at that time [...] and they shall bring him before the Prince of the Congregation [...]
Fragment 10
[...] and upon [...] for the sake of your name, and [...] to Michael, Gabriel, Sariel, and Raphael [...] with the chosen of [...]
Fragment 5 — The Branch of David
[...] as the prophet Isaiah said: "And they shall cut the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon, with its majesty, shall fall."
A shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse [...] the Branch of David. And they shall enter into judgment vacat with [...] and the Prince of the Congregation shall put him to death — the Branch of David [...] and with wounds. And the High Priest shall command [...] the slain of the Kittim [...]
Fragment 1 — The Blessing
[...] before Israel [...]
And blessed be his holy name forever and ever. And blessed [...] and blessed be all his holy angels. May God Most High bless you, and may he shine his face upon you, and may he open for you his good treasure which is in the heavens — to cause showers of blessing to fall: dew and rain, early and late rains in their season, and to give you fruit, harvests of grain, wine, and oil in plenty.
And for you the land shall yield delicious fruits, and you shall eat and be replete. In your land there shall be no miscarriage, and no sickness. Drought and blight shall not be seen in its harvests. There shall be no disease at all, or stumbling block in your congregation, and wild animals shall vanish from the land. There shall be no pestilence in your land.
For God is with you, and his holy angels stand in the midst of your congregation. And his holy name is invoked over you [...] for you, and in your midst [...]
Colophon
Text: Sefer ha-Milhamah (4Q285)
Source: Qumran Cave 4
Translation Method: Blind translation from Hebrew transcription (García Martínez & Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill, 1997). No published English translations were consulted.
Translator: NTAC + Claude (Good Works Translation)
Scribe: Tulku Ezra, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026
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Source Text: ספר המלחמה (4Q285)
Hebrew transcription from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Transcription follows García Martínez & Tigchelaar (Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill 1997).
[ …] 2 […]…[…] 1 Frag. 2מתוך] ה[עדה] …[ […] 3ב הון] ו[בצע
]…[ […] 4ור ואכלתם א]…[ […] 5להם קברי]ם …[ …] 6כו[ל
חלליה]ם …[ […] 7ון ישובו] …[ […] 8מים ו]…[ […] 9אל עו[…].
[…] 10ש וא]…[
[…] 1 Frags. 6 + 4ת תנגף רשעה] …[ …] 2נשי[א העדה וכול
ישר]אל …[ …] 3אשר הי[ה כתוב] …[ […] 4על הרי ]…[ …] 5
ה[כתיים …] 6 […] vacatנש[יא העדה עד הים ה]גדול …[ …] 7וינוס[ו
מפני ישראל בעת ההיאה] …[ [ …] 8יעמוד עילהם ונעכרו עילהם] …[
.[…] 9ושבו אל היבשה בעת הה]יאה …[ …] 10ו[יביאוהו לפני נשיא
]העדה …[
[…] 1 Frag. 10ם ועל ]…[ […] 2ם למען שמכה ומ] …[ […] 3את
מיכאל ג]בריא[ל] שריאל ורפאל …[ […] 4עם בחירי]…[
…] 1 Frag. 5כאשר אמר [ישעיהו הנביא ונוקפ]ים סבכי[ ] 2היער
בברזל והלבנון באדיר י[פול ויצא חוטר מגזע ישי] …[ […] 3צמח דויד
ונשפטו vacatאת ]…[ […] 4והמיתו נשיא העדה צמ]ח דויד …[ […] 5ם
ובמחוללות וצוה כוהן ]הרואש …[ …] 6ח[לל]י[ כתיי]ם …[ל]…[
[…] 1 Frag. 1לפני] י[שראל] …[ …] 2וברוך שם קודשו ל[ע]ו[למי
עד] וברוכים …[ ] 3וברוכים כול מלאכי קודשו יברך [אתכם אל ע]ליון
ויאר[ ] 4פניו אליכם ויפתח לכם את אוצרו ה[טוב] אש[ר בשמים ל]הוריד
גשמי[ ] 5ברכה טל ו[מטר יו]ר[ה ומלקו]ש [בעתו ולתת] לכם פרי תנובות
דגן[ ] 6תירוש וי[צהר לרוב והארץ] תנו[בב ל]כם פרי עדנים ואכלתם[
] 7והדשנת[ם ואין משכלת] בארצכ[ם ולוא] מוחלה שדפון וירקון[ 8לוא
יראה בתבוא]תיה וא[ין כול נגע] ומכשול בעדתכם וחיה רעה שבתה[ 9מן
הארץ ואין דב]ר בארצכ[ם כיא אל ע]מכם ומלאכי קודשו מתיצבים
בעדתכם ושם[ 10קודשו נקרא ע]ליכם …[…]…[ 11לכם ובקרבכם
Source Colophon
Text: Sefer ha-Milhamah (4Q285)
Source: Qumran Cave 4
Transcription: García Martínez, F. & Tigchelaar, E.J.C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill, 1997
Scribe: Tulku Ezra, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026
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