Hymns and Prayers

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  • Address to the LordA two-line Cave 4 Hebrew fragment in which a speaker petitions the Lord on behalf of his father — a minimal testament or prayer stub from DJD XXII.
  • Address to the Lord — Source TextSource text: 4Q526 — Hebrew transcription for Address to the Lord, decoded from the Qimron Composite Edition
  • Apocryphal Lamentations AA Good Works Translation of 4Q450-4Q453, four Cave 4 Hebrew manuscripts in the tradition of the book of Lamentations — the liver poured out on the earth, the Exodus God invoked against present suffering, and the ancient cry: How?
  • Apocryphal Lamentations A — Source TextSource text for Apocryphal Lamentations A
  • Apocryphal Lamentations BA Good Works Translation of 4Q501, a Cave 4 Hebrew communal lament prayer — calling on God to remember the expelled, the broken, and the poor, and to rise against those who sought their lives.
  • Apocryphal Lamentations B — Source TextSource text for Apocryphal Lamentations B
  • Apocryphal Prayer FragmentsA Good Works Translation of 4Q454-4Q455, two Cave 4 Hebrew manuscripts — the righteous right hand of Isaiah 41, signs and wonders in the land of Ham, bread in the wilderness, and the faithful man who abounds with blessings
  • Apocryphal Prayer Fragments — Source TextSource text for Apocryphal Prayer Fragments (4Q454–4Q455)
  • Apotropaic PsalmsCave 11 anti-demonic psalms, including a unique Psalm of Solomon and a variant of Psalm 91, used as ritual incantations against evil spirits and affliction.
  • Apotropaic Psalms — Source TextSource text for Apotropaic Psalms (11Q11)
  • Barki NafshiDead Sea Scrolls thanksgiving hymns from Qumran Cave 4 (4Q434–438), opening with the refrain ‘Bless, O my soul, the Lord’ — hymns of gratitude for divine rescue of the poor and humble.
  • Barki Nafshi — Source TextSource text for Barki Nafshi
  • BerakhotA Good Works Translation of the Berakhot (Blessings, 4Q286–290) from Hebrew. A Qumran covenant liturgy of blessings upon the elect and curses upon Belial and all spirits of his lot.
  • Berakhot — Source TextSource text for Berakhot (4Q286–290)
  • Cave 11 Hymn Fragments (11Q15-16)Cave 11 Hebrew hymn fragments — 11Q15 praises the LORD's sanctuary (Exodus 15:17) and divine incomparability; 11Q16 meditates on God's foreknowledge of all things (Isaiah 46:10); a supplementary Cave 11 fragment (Eshel & Eshel 2005) contains the Akedah sequence from Genesis 22.
  • Cave 11 Hymn Fragments (11Q15-16) — Source TextSource text: Hebrew apparatus readings for Cave 11 Hymn Fragments (11Q15–16) — attested scripture quotations and vocabulary from the Qimron composite edition, with Cave 11 Akedah fragment readings
  • Communal ConfessionA communal confession prayer recalling creation and Exodus, confessing sin, and appealing to God's covenant with Abraham — a sectarian liturgy in the tradition of Nehemiah 9 and Daniel 9.
  • Communal Confession — Source TextHebrew source text of the Communal Confession (4Q393, 4Q392) — apparatus-confirmed phrases after Qimron composite edition (CC BY 4.0)
  • Congregation Prayer (4Q466)A Good Works Translation of 4Q466, a Cave 4 Hebrew fragment — a communal prayer invoking God as the God of spirits of all flesh (Numbers 16:22), in the tradition of Moses and Aaron's intercession during the Korah crisis
  • Congregation Prayer (4Q466) — Source TextHebrew source text of the Congregation Prayer (4Q466) — apparatus-confirmed readings from Cave 4, invoking the God of spirits of all flesh (Numbers 16:22)
  • Curses of Melki-reshaA Good Works Translation of the Curses of Melki-resha (4Q280) from Hebrew. A Qumran covenant renewal ceremony pronouncing solemn curses upon Melki-resha, King of Wickedness — the dark counterpart to Melchizedek and companion liturgy to the Berakhot blessings.
  • Daily PrayersLiturgical morning and evening prayers from Qumran Cave 4, organized by day of the month; the congregation and angels of light bless God at dawn and dusk according to the 364-day solar calendar.
  • Daily Prayers — Source TextHebrew source text of the Daily Prayers (4Q503) — fragment transcriptions of morning and evening gate-prayers organized by day of the month, after García Martínez & Tigchelaar and Baillet DJD VII
  • Hodayot-like Text ACave 4 thanksgiving hymn fragments outside the main Hodayot scroll — first-person praise in the classic Hodayot voice, from three small manuscripts
  • Hodayot-like Text A — Source TextSource text for Hodayot-like Text A
  • Hodayot-like Text BA Cave 4 judgment hymn — the righteous tree raising branch and bearing fruit, the wicked destroyed by coal and fire and pitch — Hodayot-like vocabulary of judgment and arboricultural contrast
  • Hodayot-like Text B — Source TextSource text: 4Q433a — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Hodayot-like Text B
  • Hymn of Communal PraiseCave 4 Hebrew liturgical fragment; five partly readable lines combining communal praise, penitential confession, and an eschatological gathering of the nations.
  • Hymn of Eternal PraiseDead Sea Scroll (4Q291) — fragmentary Cave 4 hymnic prayer; "in his name all shall praise... from everlasting to everlasting"
  • Hymn of Light (4Q468b)A Good Works Translation of 4Q468b, a Cave 4 Hebrew hymn — centered on Psalm 104's vision of God clothed in light as a garment, with garments of glory and splendor imagery
  • Hymn of Light (4Q468b) — Source TextSource text: 4Q468b — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Hymn of Light (4Q468b)
  • Hymn of Praise (3Q6)A Good Works Translation of 3Q6, a Cave 3 Hebrew hymn fragment — three lines combining the joy-in-God vocabulary of Psalms 33–34 with the pleasant song of Psalm 147, closing with a doxology
  • Hymn of Praise (3Q6) — Source TextSource text: 3Q6 Hebrew — apparatus-confirmed readings of the Hymn of Praise, Cave 3 fragment
  • Hymn of the BlamelessA Cave 4 Hebrew hymn fragment containing a beatitude formula praising all who fear the LORD, alongside an address to the blameless community of Israel.
  • Hymn of the Lord's VineyardA Good Works Translation of 4Q500 — a single Qumran fragment elaborating the biblical vineyard metaphor, preserving three legible Hebrew lines: a gate of the holy heights, a divine planting, and the delight of the Lord
  • Hymn of the Lord's Vineyard — Source TextSource text for Hymn of the Lord's Vineyard
  • Hymn of ZionDead Sea Scroll (4Q457) — fragmentary Cave 4 eschatological hymn; Zion as birthplace of the nations, the messianic Branch, the divine coming, and the glory of God rising upon Jerusalem
  • Hymn of Zion — Source TextSource text for Hymn of Zion
  • Hymnic or Sapiential Work BCave 4 Hebrew hymnic fragment of six lines; calls on God to gather the fearers of Israel, redeem the perfect ones, and closes with a beatitude — Blessed are you, all who fear yhwh.
  • Lament A (4Q445)A Good Works Translation of 4Q445, a Cave 4 Hebrew lament — drawing on Psalm 129's cry of affliction from youth and the Song of Songs' imagery of darkness to give voice to communal suffering
  • Lament A (4Q445) — Source TextSource text: 4Q445 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Lament A (4Q445)
  • Lament for the People and their LeadersA fragmentary Cave 4 lament poem — one of the most personal voices in the Dead Sea Scrolls — mourning the destruction of cities, the fall of priests and judges, and the betrayal of covenant companions.
  • Lament of ZionA Qumran lament poem over the desolation of Jerusalem, modeled on the biblical Lamentations — the sole pure lament poem in the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus.
  • Lament of Zion — Source TextSource text: 4Q179 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Lament of Zion
  • Liturgical Work ACave 4 Hebrew liturgical fragment addressing an assembly with a call to peace, contrasting those who are far from the king with those who reject their God.
  • Liturgical Work DCave 4 Hebrew liturgical fragment of three lines; mentions things stored for the feast of the Lord, peace-offerings, and a priestly officiant; too lacunose for continuous translation.
  • Liturgy of LuminariesA Good Works Translation of 4Q408 from Hebrew — a Cave 4 liturgical blessing for the creation of light and darkness, sanctifying the daily movement of the luminaries as an act of covenant with all Israel.
  • Liturgy of Luminaries — Source TextHebrew source text for the Liturgy of Luminaries (4Q408) — apparatus-confirmed phrases from Qimron's composite edition, with 1Q29 companion fragment
  • Non-Canonical PsalmsTwo overlapping Qumran psalmic collections outside the canonical Psalter — prayers of Zion-love, a psalm attributed to Moses, a prayer of Manasseh imprisoned by Assyria, and hymns of the humble congregation.
  • Non-Canonical Psalms — Source TextSource text: 4Q380–4Q381 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Non-Canonical Psalms
  • Order of Divine ServiceDead Sea Scroll (4Q334) — Cave 4 liturgical calendar; repeating formula of songs and words of praise organized by night and day
  • Penitential PrayerA Cave 4 penitential prayer — the community confessing inherited guilt from the days of their fathers to this day, in the exact words of Ezra 9:7 — the Qumran sect's use of the Ezra confession as liturgical model
  • Penitential Prayer — Source TextSource text: 4Q449 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Penitential Prayer
  • Personal PrayerA Good Works Translation of 4Q443 from Hebrew — a fragmentary Cave 4 personal prayer in which a speaker pleads before God as righteous judge, faces false witnesses and accusers, and trusts that God will open his mouth and stand as his advocate.
  • Prayer for MercyCave 4 Hebrew prayer of ten lines; invokes divine mercy against enemies who consume, praises God with all mouths, and appeals to manifold mercies amid blow upon blow.
  • Prayer of the Glorious NameDead Sea Scroll (4Q293) — fragmentary Cave 4 liturgical prayer blessing the holy and glorious Name of God from everlasting, with firmament imagery
  • Prayer of Thousandfold BlessingDead Sea Scroll (4Q292) — fragmentary Cave 4 prayer asking God to multiply his blessings "a thousandfold" upon his servants; closes with Amen Amen
  • Prayers for FestivalsA Good Works Translation of the Qumran festival prayers (1Q34, 4Q507–509) from Hebrew. Liturgical prayers for the Day of Atonement, Passover, and the annual feast cycle.
  • Psalms ScrollA Good Works Translation of the non-canonical compositions from the Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5) from Hebrew. Psalm 151, Psalm 154, Psalm 155, Hymn to the Creator, Apostrophe to Zion, Plea for Deliverance, and David's Compositions.
  • Psalms Scroll — Source TextSource text: 11Q5 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Psalms Scroll
  • Sapiential HymnA Cave 4 wisdom hymn meditating on the worth of one day in God's courts and the creation of the heavens by divine understanding — apparatus-confirmed parallels to 4Q185, Isaiah 40, and Proverbs 3
  • Sapiential Hymn — Source TextSource text: 4Q411 — Hebrew/Aramaic transcription for Sapiential Hymn
  • Sapiential-Hymnic Work ACave 4 Hebrew wisdom-hymn; two column fragments address a student with God's gift of knowledge and insight; the seed of the wicked shall not be; a wisdom voice names the firstborn; Fragment 12 names Asshur, Arpachshad, and Lud from the sons of Shem.
  • Self-Glorification HymnA first-person declaration of heavenly exaltation and divine fellowship, attested in three overlapping Qumran manuscripts — the most arresting claim in the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Self-Glorification Hymn — Source TextHebrew source text for the Self-Glorification Hymn — three overlapping Qumran manuscripts: 4Q427 Fragment 7 Column ii, 4Q471b, and 4Q491c Fragment 11 Column i
  • Songs of the Sabbath SacrificeA Good Works Translation of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–407) from Hebrew. Angelic liturgy describing worship in the heavenly temple.
  • Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice — Source TextHebrew source text for the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (שירות עולת השבת, 4Q400–407) — transcription from García Martínez and Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition
  • Songs of the SageDead Sea Scrolls liturgical hymns from Cave 4 (4Q510–511), composed for the Maskil to proclaim against evil spirits, demons, and Belial's dominion at appointed seasons.
  • Songs of the Sage — Source TextSource text for Songs of the Sage
  • TanhumimA Qumran consolation anthology drawn from Isaiah 40–54 — gathering the great promises of return and renewal for the renewed covenant community at the end of days.
  • Thanksgiving HymnsThe Thanksgiving Hymns of Qumran — devotional poetry from the Dead Sea sect, giving voice to the human soul before God.
  • Thanksgiving Hymns — Source TextSource text for Thanksgiving Hymns
  • The AvodahA liturgical-historical text from Cave 5 surveying God's saving acts — Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi — in a blessing formula that calls Israel to return to the covenant and the Torah of Moses.
  • The Vineyard BenedictionCave 4 papyrus fragment of seven lines; a benediction over a sacred vineyard — mulberry trees, winepress built of stone, gate of the holy height, plantation, and glorious channels.
  • Words of PraiseCave 4 Hebrew sapiential fragment; a single recoverable line calling the reader to praise God with all their mouth.
  • Words of the LuminariesA Good Works Translation of the Words of the Luminaries (4Q504-506) from Hebrew. Daily prayers for each day of the week — creation, covenant, exile, and return.