[...] which were stored for the feast of the Lord [...] for him peace-offerings [...] the priest [...]

(Three fragmentary lines of a single fragment. The text is too lacunose for continuous translation; the surviving vocabulary is presented as attested.)

[...] which were stored for the feast of the Lo[rd ...]
[...] for him peace-offerings. Thus [...]
[...] thus the priest [...]

Colophon

Text: 4Q527 (4QLiturgical Work D?, query retained in the official designation), Cave 4. PAM 41.946, 43.575. Published by É. Puech in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXV (Oxford: Clarendon, 1998), pp. 183–185, pl. XIV.

The three surviving lines preserve liturgical vocabulary of the Second Temple festival calendar. Line 1: nitspanim le-ḥag Adonai ("stored/hidden away for the feast of the Lord") — an action of liturgical preparation, the ritual provision of offerings set aside in advance of a festival. Line 2: shelamin ("peace-offerings," שלמים) — the sacrificial category associated with communal meals and festive worship (Leviticus 3). Line 3: ha-kohen ("the priest") — the officiating figure who performs the sacrifice. Together, these fragments suggest a text concerned with priestly regulation or liturgical instruction for festival worship, consistent with the Qumran community's intense focus on sacred calendar observance. The query mark in the official designation reflects scholarly uncertainty about the composition's genre and purpose.

Translation: Good Works Translation from Hebrew by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Hebrew transcription consulted in García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–1999), vol. 2, p. 1060.

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Source Text

4Q527 — Hebrew Fragment

Hebrew transcription from García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 2, p. 1060 (Brill, 1997–1999). Square brackets indicate lacunae or restorations.

[…  אשר היו נצפנים לחג אד]וני    1
[…]  ]…[ לו שלמים כן    2
[…]… [כן הכוהן    3

Notes

Line 1: נצפנים = "stored/hidden away" (Niphal participle of צפן, "to store/hide"). לחג אדוני = "for the feast of the Lord." The verb צפן is used of storing provisions and valuables; here it suggests ritual preparation for a major festival.

Line 2: שלמים = "peace-offerings" (root שלם, "to be complete/at peace") — the sacrificial category of Leviticus 3, associated with communal eating and celebration.

Line 3: הכוהן = "the priest" — the designated officiating figure.

Source Colophon

Source: Hebrew. Cave 4, Qumran. DJD XXV (Puech, 1998). Transcription: García Martínez and Tigchelaar, DSSE (1997–1999), vol. 2.

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