"...three tongues of fire..."
— 1Q29, Fragment 5
1Q29 is a small Cave 1 Hebrew manuscript published by Barthélemy and Milik in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert I (Oxford: Clarendon, 1955), pages 130–132, Plate XXXI. It consists of eleven small fragments, of which only a few preserve continuous text. The manuscript carries no ancient title; modern scholars name it the Liturgy of the Three Tongues of Fire — or occasionally the Rite of the Lights — after its most distinctive phrase.
The text describes a ceremony at or near the sanctuary involving three manifestations of fire. Its priestly setting and oracular character connect it directly to 4Q376, the Apocryphon of Moses, which describes a luminous oracle administered by the anointed high priest: the left stone which is on his right shall give light. 1Q29 and 4Q376 belong to the same tradition of priestly fire-oracle texts, likely describing the same ceremony from a different angle. Both texts develop the ancient Urim and Thummim oracle — the sacred lots worn by the high priest in Exodus 28 and Leviticus 8 — into a specific ceremonial procedure. After the Babylonian exile, the Urim and Thummim were widely considered lost; Ezra 2:63 acknowledges that no priest could administer them until one arose with the proper authority. The Dead Sea Scroll community was evidently attempting to recover, ritualize, or at least theorize what that administration would look like.
The phrase three tongues of fire has been variously interpreted. Some scholars read it as three distinct manifestations from the oracle stones, corresponding to positive, negative, and conditional verdicts. Others see three flames in a single luminous display. The text is too fragmentary to settle the question. What is clear is that the ceremony is priestly, luminous, and oracular: fire speaks where words cannot.
The phrase also resonates beyond its immediate context. The Hebrew leshonot esh — tongues of fire — is the same image that appears in Acts 2:3, when the Pentecost event is described as tongues of fire resting on the disciples. Whether or not the New Testament author had this tradition in mind, 1Q29 shows that fire-tongues as divine speech were a living category in Second Temple Judaism, not a novelty. The Sinai fire, the Tabernacle flame, the oracle stones that shine — these are all expressions of the same theology: the divine speaks through light.
Fragment 1 — Priestly Setting
Fragment 1 preserves the ceremonial framing. The fragment is partially legible; lacunae marked throughout.
[...] the priest [...]
[...] before him [...]
[...] all [...] the assembly [...]
[Remainder of Fragment 1 too damaged for continuous translation.]
Fragment 5 — The Three Tongues of Fire
[...] three tongues of fire [...]
[...]
The surrounding lines of Fragment 5 are too damaged for translation. The phrase three tongues of fire is securely attested; its syntactic context is irrecoverable from this fragment alone.
Fragments 2–4, 6–11 — Vocabulary Traces
The remaining nine fragments are too small for continuous translation. Identifiable vocabulary includes traces of priestly and liturgical register. No continuous clause is recoverable from any of them.
Colophon
Text: 1Q29 — Liturgy of the Three Tongues of Fire
Source: Qumran Cave 1
Language: Hebrew
Published: J. T. Milik, in Barthélemy & Milik, Qumrân Cave 1, DJD I (Oxford: Clarendon, 1955), pp. 130–132, Plate XXXI.
Translation Method: Good Works Translation from Hebrew. 1Q29 is so fragmentary that only Fragment 1 (priestly setting) and Fragment 5 (the key phrase) yield translatable content. The central phrase שלש לשונות אש ("three tongues of fire") is securely attested; surrounding text is irrecoverable. English derives from direct reading of the Hebrew; the translation is minimal by necessity. The connection to 4Q376 (Apocryphon of Moses) and the Urim/Thummim tradition is well-established in the scholarship of Strugnell and Dimant (DJD XXX).
Translator: NTAC + Claude (Good Works Translation)
Scribe: DSS Tulku, New Tianmu Anglican Church, Mar/2026
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Source Text
Hebrew transcription of 1Q29 (Cave 1, Qumran). Transcription follows Barthélemy & Milik, DJD I (Oxford: Clarendon, 1955), pp. 130–132, Plate XXXI. Eleven fragments; only Fragments 1 and 5 preserve continuous vocabulary. Lacunae marked [...]; no text has been supplied beyond what is attested in the DJD I transcription.
Fragment 1
[...] כֹּהֵן [...]
[...] לְפָנָיו [...]
[...] כֹּל [...] הָעֵדָה [...]
Fragment 5
[...] שָׁלֹשׁ לְשׁוֹנוֹת אֵשׁ [...]
Fragments 2–4, 6–11
Too fragmentary for transcription. Isolated vocabulary traces only.
Source Colophon
Hebrew transcription of 1Q29 (1QThree Tongues of Fire; also cited as 1QRite of Lights in some editions). Cave 1, Qumran. Published in J. T. Milik, Qumrân Cave 1, ed. D. Barthélemy & J. T. Milik, DJD I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955), pp. 130–132, Plate XXXI. The manuscript consists of eleven small fragments; only Fragments 1 and 5 preserve recoverable vocabulary. No Hebrew has been supplied beyond the attested DJD I readings.
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