"O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh."
— 4Q466, apparatus-confirmed after Numbers 16:22

4Q466 — Cave 4 Hebrew Fragment — Dead Sea Scrolls

4Q466 is a small Cave 4 fragment preserving portions of five lines, of which lines 2–4 yield the clearest content. The apparatus-confirmed text centers on a verbatim citation of Numbers 16:22 — ויאמרו אל אלהי הרוחות לכל בשר — "and they said: O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh."

In Numbers 16, this invocation is spoken by Moses and Aaron in response to God's announcement that he will destroy the entire congregation for the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces and cry out: "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh — shall one man sin, and will you be wroth with all the congregation?" Their intercession succeeds; God limits the destruction. The phrase recurs in Numbers 27:16 in Moses's prayer for a successor: "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation." There it transitions from crisis intercession to communal leadership succession.

The apparatus also confirms the phrase עדת יהוה (congregation of the LORD) in line 3, and דבר אל העדה (speak to the congregation) and ועל כל העדה תקצף (and on all the congregation your wrath will blaze) — both drawn from Numbers 16:22 and its surrounding context.

At Qumran, the "God of spirits of all flesh" formula carried special resonance. The Community Rule and related texts frequently invoke God's sovereignty over spirits — both human and angelic — as the foundation of the sect's anthropology and its theology of election. A prayer fragment invoking this formula in a congregational setting may reflect the community's liturgical adaptation of Moses and Aaron's great intercession, now applied to the sect itself as the true congregation standing before God.

Lines 1 and 5 are too damaged for translation. Lines 2–4 are partially legible.

Fragments

[...] [...]

And they said: O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh —
and on all the congregation your wrath [...]
The congregation of the LORD [...]
Speak to the congregation [...]

[...] [...]

Colophon

A Good Works Translation of 4Q466. Translated from Hebrew by Tulku and Autumn (the Miko), New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Working from apparatus-verified readings after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew and Aramaic Texts (Zenodo 2020, CC BY 4.0), p. 904. Lines 1 and 5 too damaged; lines 2–4 partially legible. No text conjectured beyond apparatus-confirmed readings. Lacunae marked with [...].

🌲

Source Text

Hebrew, Qumran Cave 4. Apparatus-verified readings only, after Qimron composite edition (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0), p. 904. No text conjectured.

4Q466 Fragments (Apparatus-Confirmed)

[...] [...]

ויאמרו אל אלהי הרוחות לכל בשר
   ועל כל העדה תקצף [...]
עדת יהוה [...]
דבר אל העדה [...]

[...] [...]

Line 2 apparatus: "ויאמרו אל אלהי הרוחת לכל בשר" = Num 16:22 VERBATIM (and they said, O God of spirits of all flesh); "ועל כל העדה תקצף" = Num 16:22 continuation. Line 3: "עדת יהוה" (congregation of the LORD). Line 4: "דבר אל העדה" (speak to the congregation) = Num 27:17 context. Qimron p. 904.

Source Colophon

Apparatus-verified Hebrew after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew and Aramaic Texts (Zenodo 2020, CC BY 4.0), p. 904. Biblical cross-references: Num 16:22; Num 27:16–17. Lacunae marked with [...]; no text conjectured beyond apparatus-confirmed readings.

🌲