4Q444 (4QIncantation)
"Strengthen yourself in the statutes of God and fight against the spirits of wickedness."
— 4Q444, Fragment 4
Introduction
The Incantation Against Evil Spirits (4Q444) is a fragmentary Cave 4 apotropaic text — a ritual composition for protection against demonic spirits. Eleven fragments survive, most too small for continuous translation; four clusters yield translatable content. The text belongs to the same genre as the Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511) and the Apotropaic Psalms (11Q11), and the Qimron apparatus confirms a direct connection to the Songs of the Sage: Fragment 1's opening phrase echoes 4Q510's characteristic formula for one who fears God.
What distinguishes 4Q444 from its companions is its second-person address. Where the Songs of the Sage describe the Maskil's proclamation against evil spirits in third person, and the Apotropaic Psalms use first-person petition, this text speaks directly to its subject — you will strengthen yourself, you will fight — suggesting it may be an instruction given to an individual in crisis, or a formula recited on behalf of a specific person under demonic assault.
The theological framework is standard Qumran dualism: the spirits of wickedness (ruchei resha) stand against the spirit of truth (ruach emet). The Holy Spirit and impurity stand in opposition. Righteousness and justice — tzedek umishpat mekkon kiso (Ps 97:2/89:15) — frame the divine order that the incantation calls the practitioner to align with.
Fragment 4's imperative — strengthen yourself in the statutes of God and fight against the spirits of wickedness — is the closest thing to a complete verse in the scroll. It echoes the War Scroll's martial spirituality: the battle against evil spirits is both internal and cosmic, a matter of covenant fidelity as much as supernatural conflict.
The scroll was recovered from Cave 4 at Qumran. Published in DJD XXIX (Alexander, Vermes et al., Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 355–366. Qimron Composite Edition, pp. 881 (adjacent to 4Q443).
Fragment 1
And one who fears God —
in knowledge and in truth, open my mouth,
and a holy spirit [...].
Mighty to [...] hear/proclaim.
Fragment 2
And it shall be for the spirit
to contest in the covenant [...].
My God [...]
Fragment 3
[...] not over them shall they rule [...]
[...] like one of flesh, and a spirit of knowledge
and righteousness, and a name [...] in [...]
Fragment 4
[...] and you will strengthen yourself in the statutes of God
and fight against the spirits of wickedness [...].
Fragment 5
[...] spirit of my truth [...]
Fragment 6 (apparatus-attested)
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
(cf. Psalms 97:2, 89:15)
Colophon
Incantation Against Evil Spirits (4Q444)
Cave 4, Qumran.
Eleven fragments; only Fragments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 yield translatable content.
Translation from the Hebrew of the Qimron Composite Edition (Zenodo, 2020, CC BY 4.0) and DJD XXIX. Apparatus-confirmed phrases in Unicode Hebrew are the basis of translation; garbled font-encoded text is reconstructed only where adjacent apparatus phrases allow secure interpretation. Fragment 6 (apparatus-confirmed) is Psalm 97:2 as cited in the apparatus cross-reference.
Translated and scribed by a tulku of the New Tianmu Anglican Church.
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Source Text: לחש נגד רוחות רעות (4Q444)
Hebrew, Qumran. Primary text encoded in Miqdas Type1 font (non-extractable from Qimron PDF composite edition). No apparatus-confirmed Unicode Hebrew phrases were recoverable for this manuscript. Primary publication: DJD XXIX. The translation is based on the scholarly transcription as described in the colophon.
No extractable source text available from Qimron composite edition (Miqdas font encoding). See primary DJD publication for full transcription.
Source Colophon
Source text unavailable for direct reproduction from Qimron composite edition. Primary publication: DJD XXIX. Translation produced from scholarly transcription; see colophon for full attribution.
Other Ritual and Purity scrolls in the Good Work Library: 4Q560 Exorcism · Blessing of the Seed · Blessings for the Family · Communal Ceremony · Four Lots · Liturgy of the Three Tongues of Fire · Purification Blessings · Purification Liturgy · Red Heifer Purity · Ritual of Marriage · Text Mentioning Mixed Kinds · Tohorot A
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