In the third month they shall gather in the covenant of God, and the Overseer shall bless...

The Communal Ceremony (4Q275) is a Cave 4 Hebrew manuscript of five fragments preserving a sectarian covenant renewal liturgy. Published in DJD XXXVII (Pfann, Alexander et al., 2000). The text closely parallels the covenant renewal ceremony of the Community Rule (1QS 1–2) — priests bless the sons of light, the Overseer pronounces curses — but is shorter and more fragmentary. The "third month" (חדש השלישי) identifies the occasion as Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, which the Qumran calendar assigned as the annual covenant renewal day. The text is distinctive in assigning the pronouncement formula not to the priests alone but to "the Overseer" (המבקר), the community's administrative officer.

Fragment 1, Column i

[...] paths of sin [...]

[...] the chosen of Israel, all who call [upon his name,]
and all who dwell in the camps [...]

[...] they shall gather in the covenant of God [...]

[...] in the third month, and the Overseer [shall be blessed ...]
He shall say: Blessed are you [...]
[who founded the covenant ...] that you established [...]

[...] and the nations who wander in the void, not following your commandments [...]

[...] and in the election of their ancestors [your gift] was given to them [...]

Fragment 1, Column ii

[...] to put them to death — unless at their command [...]

[...] the judges [...] a vain utterance and [...] who adjudicate [...]

[...] for God is the judge [...]

[...] place [...]

Fragment 2

[...] justice until the seventh week [...]

[...] in their illness [...] them [...]

[...] not to put them to death unless at their command [...]

[...] for God is justice [...]

Fragment 3, Column i

[...] the elders who are with them,
and the priests who ascend in prayer [...]

[...] the Overseer [pronounces the curse ...] accursed are you [...]

[...] no mercy [...] heal [...]
and all his affliction [...]

Fragment 3, Column ii

[...] all who are visited [...]

Colophon

Source: 4Q275 (4QCommunal Ceremony / 4QD-like document), Cave 4, Qumran. Hebrew. Five fragments. Published in DJD XXXVII (Pfann, Alexander, et al., 2000). Hebrew verified against the composite edition in Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, Volume 2 (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2013), pp. 750–751.

Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church Good Works Translation, translated from the Hebrew by a tulku of the Tianmu lineage, Mar/2026. Lacunae marked with [...]. The font-encoding of the Qimron PDF renders portions of this short text partially readable; translation covers the securely decipherable content only.

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