4Q454–4Q455, from the Hebrew

This page gathers two separate manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4, each of which survives as a single fragment. Qimron calls 4Q454 "Prayer" (תפילה) and gives 4Q455 no title. 4Q454 keeps parts of eight lines. It speaks to God of "your righteous right hand", of the land of Ham, which is Egypt, and of those stricken there, and Qimron restores the next lines as "[and you fed us br]ead in the wil[derness]". These words recall the Exodus. 4Q455 keeps parts of four lines: "his blessing will increase", "in all faithfulness", and someone who keeps far from falsehood and from speaking of it. Its genre cannot be told from so little. Qimron dates 4Q454 to the Herodian period and 4Q455 to the Hasmonean period. Both were first published by Esther Chazon.

4Q454 fragment 1

1 [ … ]m

2 [ … with] your righteous [ri]ght hand

3 [ … wonders] in the land of Ham, and those stricken with

4 [diseases in Egypt]

5 [ … ]by' the fullness of ◦◦[ … ]

6 [ … and you fed us br]ead in the wil[derness … ]

7 [ … ]◦tm l[ … ]

8 [ … ]◦◦[ … ]

4Q455 fragment 1

1 [ … ] his blessing will increase ◦◦[ … ]◦[ … ]

2 [ … ] in all faithfulness. They declared the ◦[ … ]

3 [ … ] from falsehood he will keep far, from speaking of it [ … ]

4 [ … ]l[ … ]

Colophon

A Good Works Translation from the Hebrew of 4Q454 and 4Q455. It was made directly from Elisha Qimron's composite text, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 3 (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2015), p. 192, read from the page as reprinted in Qimron's The Qumran Texts: Composite Edition (Zenodo, 2020, doi:10.5281/zenodo.3737950, CC BY 4.0). Words in square brackets are restorations printed by Qimron. ◦ marks a letter too damaged to read, and … marks a gap. Where only a few letters survive, they are given in transliteration. In 4Q454, line 3, nguʿe is rendered "those stricken with". In 4Q455, line 2, higgidu can mean "they declared" or "declare!"; the first is chosen. No English translation was used. This translation replaces an earlier one that was made before the edition's Hebrew could be read.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church, with AI-assisted translation.

© 2026 Tianmu Anglican Church. This English translation is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: you may share and adapt it for non-commercial use with credit to the Good Works Library, tianmu.org. The source text keeps its own terms. For other uses, see Rights and Reuse.

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Source Text: תפילה (4Q454) ו־4Q455

The Hebrew as printed in Qimron, vol. 3, p. 192. Square brackets enclose gaps and Qimron's restorations. ◦ marks an illegible letter. A dot above a letter (ׄ) marks a damaged letter read with confidence, a small circle above (֯) a doubtful reading, and a bar above (̄) a letter that could also be read as a similar one. Line numbers follow the edition.

4Q454 קטע 1

1 [ ]םׄ

2 [ בי]מׄ[י]ןׄ צדקכה

3 [ מופתים ]בׄארץ חם ונגועי

4 [מחלים במצרים]

5 [ ]בׄיא מלואׄ◦◦[ ]

6 [ ותאכילנו ל]ח֯ם במדׄ[בר ]

7 [ ]◦תם ל[ ]

8 [ ]◦◦[ ]

4Q455 קטע 1

1 [ ]ת֯ר֯ב֯ה ברכׄת֯וׄ ◦◦[ ]◦[ ]

2 [ ] בכלׄ אמ֯נׄה הגידו את ◦[ ]

3 [ ]מׄשקר ירחק֯ מׄהׄזכירוׄ [ ]

4 [ ]לׄ[ ]

Source Colophon

Transcribed from the rendered page of the CC BY 4.0 composite edition (Zenodo, 2020) of Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 3 (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2015), p. 192. Qimron's introductions: 4Q454 ("Prayer") is a single fragment in a Herodian hand; 4Q455 (no title) is a single fragment in a Hasmonean hand. First edition: Esther Chazon, DJD XXIX, p. 405 (4Q454), and DJD XXXVI, p. 351 (4Q455).

Qimron's notes, in brief:

• 4Q454, line 2: "[with] your righteous [ri]ght hand" is his own new reading, after Isaiah 41:10, "I have also held you up with my righteous right hand".
• 4Q454, line 3: "[wonders]" is restored after Psalm 105:27, "and wonders in the land of Ham". In wngwʿy the waw is clearly written.
• 4Q454, line 6: completed after Exodus 16:32, "the bread that I fed you in the wilderness".
• 4Q455, line 1: "his blessing will increase" is his own new reading; compare Proverbs 28:20, "a faithful man has many blessings".
• 4Q455, line 2: the reading 'mnh, "faithfulness", is a problem, because the mem looks like a kaf, but what is written in line 3 calls for it.
• 4Q455, line 3: Chazon points to Exodus 23:7, "keep far from a false word". mhzkyrw means "from letting it be heard in his mouth".

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