Part 78
4. i Enoch, 6:1-6; 7:1-6; 8:1-4: The Fall of the Angels (= Gen 6:1-5)
(6:1) And it came to pass, when the sons of men had multiplied, that in those days handsome and beautiful daughters were born to them. (2) And the angels, the sons of heaven, saw them and desired them; and they said one to another: 'Come, let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of the men of earth, and let us beget for ourselves children'. (3) And Shemihazah, who was their leader, said to them: 'I am afraid that you will not want to do this deed, and that I alone will pay the price for a great sin.' (4) And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and bind one another with curses, that none of us will change this plan till we have fulfilled it and have done this deed.' (5) Then they all swore together and bound one another with curses. (6) And there were two hundred of them who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon; and they called the mount Hermon, because they swore and bound one another with curses upon it
He may not make for himself an image of any of these, but perhaps he may make an image of a figure? Scripture says, 'So that you may not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves in the form of any figure' (Deut 4:16). He may not make an image of a figure, but perhaps he may make an image of cattle or fowl? Scripture says, 'The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air' (Deut 4:17). He may not make an image of any of these, but perhaps he may make an image offish, locust, unclean animals, or reptiles? Scripture says 'The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters below the earth' (Deut 4:18).
(7:1) And they took wives for themselves; each chose for himself a wife; and they began to cohabit with them and to defile themselves with them. And they taught the women charms and spells and showed them the cutting of roots and herbs. (2) And they became pregnant by them and bore great giants, three thousand cubits tall. (3) These
He may not make an image of any of these, but perhaps he may make an image of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets? Scripture says, 'And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, do
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to Afra. It goes on till it reaches the waters of the river Gihon, and (it turns) southwards to the waters of the Gihon, to the banks of this river. (16) And it goes on towards the east till it approaches the Garden of Eden on its south side, the south and east of the whole land of Eden and the whole east. It turns in the east and goes north till it approaches the east of the mountain called Rafa, and it goes down to the bank of the mouth of the river Tina. (17) This portion was assigned by lot to Shem and to his sons as an eternal possession for his descendants for ever....
devoured the entire fruits of men's labour, so that men were unable to sustain them. (4) Then the giants treated them violently and began to devour mankind; (5) and they began to sin against the birds and the beasts and the reptiles, and the fish, and to devour each other's flesh, and drink their blood. (6) Thereupon the earth complained against the lawless ones.
(8:1) Azael taught men how to make swords and knives and shields and breastplates and every weapon of war; and he showed them the metals of the earth, how to work gold to fashion ornaments, and how to make silver into bracelets for women; and he instructed them about antimony, and eye-shadow, and about all kinds of precious stones and coloured dyes; and the children of men fashioned these things for themselves and for their daughters, and they transgressed and led astray the saints. (2) Much impiety arose upon the earth, and they committed fornication and went astray and corrupted their ways. (3) Shemihazah taught about spells; Hermoni taught about medicines andtheloosingofspells;Baraqieltaughtabout the auguries of lightning; Kokabiel taught about the auguries of the stars; Ziqiel taught about the auguries of meteors; Araqiel taught about the auguries of the earth; Shimshiel taught about the auguries of the sun; Sahriel taught about the auguries of the moon. They all began to reveal secrets to their wives and sons. (4) Then the giants began to devour the flesh of men, and men began to be few upon the earth; and as they perished, their cry went up to heaven: 'Bring our cause before the Most High, and our destruction before the Great Glory, before the Lord of Lords in majesty.'
(22) And to Ham was assigned the second portion—all that lies beyond the Gihon southwards, to the right of the Garden. And his portion extends southwards and goes along the Mountains of Fire; and it goes towards the west to the Sea of Atel, and it continues westwards till it approaches the Sea of Ma'uk, on which nothing sets sail without perishing. (23) And it goes northwards to the vicinity of Gadir. And it goes along the coast, along the edge of the waters of the Great Sea, till it approaches the river Gihon. And it goes along the river Gihon till it reaches the right side of the Garden of Eden. (24) And this is the land that was assigned to Ham, which he was to occupy for ever, he and his sons, generation after generation for ever.
(25) And for Japheth the third portion was assigned—all that lies beyond the river Tina, to the north of the outflow of its waters. And his portion extends towards the north-east to the whole region of Gog and to all the country east of it. And it goes northwards as far as the mountains of Qelt and towards the Sea of Ma'uk; and it goes to the east (? west) of Gadir as far as the shore of the waters of the sea.
Comment: The 'sons of God' of Gen 6:1 are identified with angels, and the Nephilim of 6:4 with the offspring of the monstrous union of angels and human women. The wickedness which marked those days and led to the Flood is attributed to the forbidden knowledge (about weapons of war, magic, jewellery, and cosmetics) that the angels imparted to humankind. The text, which reflects a view widely held in antiquity that great technological advances depend on extraterrestrial knowledge being brought down (often illicitly) to earth, displays a deep-seated ambivalence towards technological progress. On i Enoch see MAJ GEN \.j.
(27) And it goes on until it approaches the west of Fereg, and returns towards Afreg; and it continues on eastwards to the waters of the Sea of Me'at. (28) And it goes on alongside the river Tina in a northeasterly direction till it reaches the end of its waters towards Mount Rafa; and then it turns round towards the north. (29) This is the land that fell to Japheth and his sons as the portion of his inheritance, which he was to occupy, himself and his sons, generation after generation for ever—five large islands, and a large tract of land in the north. (30) But it is cold, and Ham's land is hot, but Shem's is neither hot nor cold, but a blend of cold and heat....
(9:14) And Noah's sons divided their lands among their sons in the presence of their father Noah; and he made them all swear an oath, to put a curse on anyone that tried to seize a portion that had not been assigned to him by lot. (15) And they all said, 'Sobeit! Sobeit!',for themselves and their sons for ever, in every generation till the day of judgement, when the Lord God will judge them with a sword and with fire on account of all their uncleanness and the wickedness of their misdeeds, which have filled the earth with sin, uncleanness, fornication, and transgression.
5. Jubilees, 8:10-17; 22~3°', 9:I4-I5: The Division of the World among the Sons of Noah (= Gen 10)
(8:10) And it came to pass at the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee that they divided the earth into three portions, one portion for
Shem, one for Ham, and one for Japheth, a patrimony for each, in the first year, in the first week, while one of us, who had been sent to them, was still with them, (n) And Noah called his sons and they came to him, they and their children; and he divided the earth by drawing lots to decide what each of his three sons would possess, and they reached out their hands and took the document from their father Noah's lap.
Comment: The passage is poorly preserved (the translation above is based to some extent on conjectural restoration), but there emerges from it nevertheless a vivid image of the world, such as an educated Jew would have had in late Second Temple times. It correlates the three sons of Noah with the three continents of the Ionian Greek geographers (Japhetwith Europe; Shem with Asia; and Ham with Libya/Africa). Since Noah's sons solemnly agreed to this division of the world after the Flood, it has the force of international law. Elsewhere the author of Jubilees exploits this idea to deny the legitimacy of the Greek occupation of the Land of Israel. The Greeks, as sons of Japhet, had their allotted patrimony in Europe. By seizing 'a portion that had not been assigned to them by lot', they had brought upon themselves a curse. He also exploits the same idea to argue that Canaan, a son of Ham, had usurped the so-called Land of Canaan. The true owners of this land were the Jews as sons of Shem. On Jubilees see MAJ GEN A.8.
(12) And the lot of Shem was assigned in his document as the middle of the earth, which he would take as his patrimony and his sons' patrimony for ever. From the middle of the Mountains of Rafa, from the mouth of the river Tina, his portion runs westwards along the middle of this river, and extends (eastwards) as far as the Waters of the Abysses, out of which this river rises. The river empties its waters into the Sea of Me'at, and this flows into the Great Sea: all the land on the northern side belongs to Japheth and all the land on the southern side belongs to Shem. (13) And his portion extends to the vicinity of Karaso, which is in the centre of the tongue that faces south. (14) And his portion goes on in the direction of the Great Sea, and it goes straight on till it reaches the west (? east) of the tongue that faces south (for this sea is called the tongue of the Sea of Egypt).
(15) And it turns from here southwards, along the coastline, and it continues westwards, in the direction of the mouth of the Great Sea,
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nor did he wish in such a wicked way to rob him of the son that he himself had given him. Rather, he wanted to test his disposition and see whether he would obey even such a command. (234) Now that he knew his zeal and the depth of his piety, he was pleased with the benefits he had already given him, and would in the future always watch over him and his race with the greatest care. His son would attain to a ripe old age, have a happy life and bequeath to a virtuous and legitimate offspring a great dominion. (235) He also foretold that their race would grow to become many nations, whose wealth would increase and whose founders would be held in perpetual remembrance, that they would subdue Canaan by force of arms and be the envy of everyone.
6. Josephus, Antiquities 1.222-36: The Binding of Isaac (= Gen 22:1-19)
(222) Now Abraham loved Isaac deeply, because he was his only son, born to him by the gift of God on the threshold of his old age. The child, for his part, earned still more good will and affection from his parents by practising every virtue, fulfilling his obligations to his father and mother and being zealous in his piety towards God. (223) Abraham placed all his own happiness in the hope that, when he died, he would leave his son unharmed. This indeed he achieved in the end by the will of God, but God, wishing to test his piety towards himself, appeared to him and, after enumerating all the blessings he had bestowed on him, (224) how he had made him stronger than his enemies, and how he owed to him his present happiness and his son Isaac, asked him to offer up that son to him as a sacrificial victim. He commanded him to take the child up to Mount Moriah, erect an altar and make a burnt-offering of him: thus he would show his piety towards God, if he put his good pleasure above the preservation of his child.
(236) When God had said this, he produced for them a ram for the sacrifice from a hidden place. So, having been restored to each other beyond all their hopes and having heard promises of such great blessings, they embraced each other, and, when they had offered the sacrifice, they returned home to Sarah and lived happily, God helping them in whatever they desired.
(225) Abraham judged that nothing could justify disobedience to God but that all should submit to his will, since all living creatures owe their existence to his providence and bounty. So, hiding from his wife God's command and his own resolve to sacrifice the child, indeed, concealing it even from his servants, lest he should be prevented from obeying God, he took Isaac with two servants, loaded an ass with everything needed for the sacrifice and set off for the mountain. (226) For two days the servants accompanied him, but on the third, when the mountain came in sight, he left his companions on the plain and went on with his son alone to the mountain, which later King David fixed as the site of the temple. (227) They brought with them everything needed for the sacrifice except a victim. As Isaac, who was now twenty-five years old, was preparing the altar, he asked his father what he was going to sacrifice, since there was no victim; to which his father answered that God would provide for them, since he was able to make abundant provision for those who had nothing, and to take away the possessions of those who felt assured of them. So God would grant him a victim, if he was pleased to grace the sacrifice with his presence.
Comment: Josephus fills out the story with speeches and explanations to heighten the drama: his wordy, syntactic, typically Greek style stands in stark contrast to the economy of the Hebrew. He adds little of substance, save for two points: (i) He depicts Isaac as a full-grown man whose co-operation would have been needed (and, indeed, was freely offered), if the sacrifice had taken place. Isaac thus becomes as much a hero as Abraham, and is shown in an equally meritorious light. (2) Mount Moriah is identified as the place 'which later King David fixed as the site of the temple'. This was an old and widespread tradition in early Judaism (cf. 2 Chr 3:1). On the basis of it some seem to have argued that the temple sacrifices were not efficacious in themselves, but only as a re-enactment and recollection of the sacrifice of Isaac. On Josephus see MAJ GEN A.g.
7. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen 4:1—8: The Reason for the World's First Murder
(228) But when the altar had been prepared and he had arranged the firewood on it and all was ready, he said to his son: 'My boy, I prayed to God ten thousand prayers to have you as my son, and when you came into the world, I spared no pains on your upbringing. I had no thought of greater happiness than to see you grow up, and to leave you at my death heir of my estate. (229) But, since it was by God's will that I became your father, and now again it pleases him that I should give you up, bear this consecration valiantly, for I yield you to God who now claims from us this honour in return for the favours he has granted me as my supporter and defender. (230) As you were born [contrary to nature, so] quit this life not in the usual way, but sent by your own father to God, the father of all, through the rite of sacrifice. I suppose, he does not reckon it right for you to depart this life by sickness or war or any of the calamities that usually happen to men, (231) but rather would receive your soul with prayers and sacrifice and keep it near himself; and you will be my support and stay in my old age, the very purpose for which I reared you, by giving me God instead of yourself
(4:1) And Adam knew that Eve his wife had conceived from Sammael the angel, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain, and he was like those on high, not like those below; and she said, 'I have acquired a man, the angel of the Lord.' (2) And she went on to bear from Adam, her husband, his twin sister and Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a man tilling the earth. (3) And it came to pass at the end of days, on the fourteenth of Nisan, that Cain brought of the produce of the ground, of the seed of flax, as an offering of first-fruits before the Lord. (4) And Abel, for his part, also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat parts, and it was pleasing before the Lord, and the Lord showed favour to Abel and to his offering. (5) but to Cain and to his offering he did not show favour. And Cain was very angry, and the expression of his face fell. (6) And the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? and why has the expression on your face fallen? (/j If you have done your work well, your guilt will be forgiven you. But if you have not done your work well in this world, your sin will be kept for the great day of judgement. At the doors of your heart sin lies waiting, but in your hand I have given power over the evil inclination; towards you will be its desire, but you will have authority over it either to act righteously or to sin.'
(232) Now Isaac, since the son of such a father could not but be noble-minded, received these words with joy, and said that he was not fit to have been born at all if he rejected the decision of God and his father and did not readily submit to both their wills, seeing that it would be wrong to disobey even if his father alone was so minded. He rushed to the altar to be sacrificed, (233) and the deed would have been done, if God had not intervened, for he called Abraham by name and forbade him kill the boy. It was not, he said, from any desire for human blood that he had commanded him to kill his son,
(8) And Cain said to Abel his brother, 'Come, let us both go out into the field.' And it came to pass that when they had both gone out into the field, that Cain answered and said to Abel: T see that the world was
created with mercy, but that it is not governed according to the fruit of good deeds, and there is partiality in judgement; therefore your offering was accepted with favour, but my offering was not accepted from me with favour.' Abel answered and said: "The world was indeed
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2. Papyrus Murabba'at, 19: An Aramaic Bill of Divorce (Get)
created with mercy, and it is governed by the fruit of good deeds, and there is no partiality in judgement. But because the fruit of my deeds was better than yours and offered prior to yours, so my offering was accepted with favour.' Cain answered and said to Abel: There is no judgement and no judge and no other world; there is no good reward to be given to the righteous, and no punishment for the wicked.' Abel answered and said: There is a judgement and a judge and another world; there is a good reward to be given to the righteous, and there is punishment for the wicked.' And concerning these matters they fell into a dispute in the open field, (9) and Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and drove a stone into his forehead, and slew him.
(i) On the first of Mareshvan, in the year six, at Masada: (2) 'I divorce and repudiate of my own free will, I, (3) Joseph, son of Naqsan, from [—]ah, resident at Masada, you, (4) Mariam, daughter of Jonathan [f]rom Hanablata, resident (5) at Masada, [you] who were formerly my wife, so that you are (6) free for your part to go and to become the wife of any (7) Jewish man, whom you wish. And let this serve you as a document of repudiation from me (8) and as a bill of divorce. And her[ew]ith I am giving back [to you] the [dow]ry, and for all destroyed or damaged or [—] property I will [re-embu]rse you, as I am obliged to do, (10) and I make fourfold restitution. And whefnever] you ask me, I will provide you with another copy of (n) [this] document, for as long as I live.'
Comment: As in Rewritten Bible the Targum fills in the narrative lacunae of the biblical text (which is given here in italics). Thus it explains how Cain killed Abel (with a stone), and why
(26) Joseph, son of Naqsan, for himself (27) Eliezer, [son of] Malkah, witness (28) Joseph, son of Malkah, witness (29) Eleazar, son of Hananah, witness.
(the world's first murder happened because of a theological argument about whether God governs the world justly). It offers an interpretation of the famous crux in Gen 4:7, where it finds a reference to the rabbinic doctrine of the two inclinations, one towards good, the other towards evil (cf ANTH 0.4). The assertion (v. i) that Cain was born of the union of Eve and
Comment: The Bill of Divorce is a Torah law, though the wording of the document is not laid down: see Deut 24:1—4
(cf. Mt 5:31; 19:7; Mk 10:4). This document was written in the year in CE. Like the marriage contracts of the period, the text is written twice, once on the front and once on the back of the papyrus. Though divorce seems easy, the necessity to repay dowry, with the fourfold restitution for any damaged or destroyed property, must have acted as a powerful restraint on hasty action. See further MAJ GEN B.8.
Sammael (a rabbinic name for the Devil) is surprising (cf. the story of the intercourse of angels and humans in ANTH A.4). It explains why Cain was evil: he was an alien, a child of the Devil, who did the Devil's work. On the Targumim see MAJ
B. Law
3. Mishnah, Sebi'it, 10:3-6: The Prosbul of Hillel
1. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, 4:3—4: The Great Sanhedrin
(10:3) A Prosbul is not cancelled [by the Seventh Year]. This is one of the enactments of Hillel the Elder. He saw that people were reluctant to give loans to one another and transgressed what is written in the Torah, 'Be careful that you do not harbour in your heart a mean thought [by saying, The Seventh Year, the year of release, is coming. You view with hostility your poor brother, and lend him nothing; and he cries out to the Lord against you, and you incur guilt]' (Deut 15:9).
(4:3) The Sanhedrin was arranged like half a round threshing-floor so that they might see one another, and two judge s' clerks stood in front of them, one to the right and the other to the left, and wrote down the arguments for acquittal and the arguments for conviction. Rabbi Judah said: There were three: one to write down the arguments for acquittal, one to write down the arguments for conviction, and a third to write down the arguments both for acquittal and for conviction.
So Hillel ordained the Prosbul.
(4) This is the formula of the Prosbul: 'I entrust to you, so-and-so, the judges in such-and-such-a-place, that I may be able to collect any debt due to me [from so-and-so], whenever I wish.' And the judges or the witnesses sign below.
(4) Three rows of Students of the Sages sat in front of them, and each one knew his place. If they needed to appoint (another judge), they appointed him from the first row, and one from the second row moved up to the first row, and one from the third row moved up to the second; and they selected someone from the assembly and seated him in the third row. He did not sit in the place of the former, but he sat in the place appropriate for him.
(5) An ante-dated Prosbul is valid, but a post-dated one is not valid. Ante-dated bonds are not valid, but post-dated ones are valid. If one borrows from five persons, a Prosbul is drawn up for each of them separately. If five persons borrow from one, only one Prosbul is drawn up for them all.
Comment: The picture is not entirely clear, nor is its historical accuracy certain. One way of understanding it is to suppose that the actual members of the Sanhedrin, numbering seventy-one according to the Mishnah (m. Sank. 1:6), sat in three, tiered, semi-circular rows. The Students of the Sages sat opposite them in three straight rows. Behind the rows of the Students of the Sages stood a general audience ('the assembly') comprising other scholars and perhaps members of the public and friends of the parties. The action took place in the semi-circular space between the rows of the Students of the Sages and the members of the Sanhedrin. In this space the clerks of the court sat, and perhaps also the two senior judges, whom the Talmud calls the President (nasi') and the Father of the Court ('ab bet din). The Students of the Sages were senior scholars who were, in effect, learning how to be judges by observing the Sanhedrin at work. They provided a necessary pool from which to fill temporary or permanent vacancies on the bench. See further MAJ GEN 8.4, n.
(6) A Prosbul may be written only for (a loan secured by) immovable property. If the debtor has none, the creditor gives him title to part, however small, of his own land. Ifthe debtor has landheld in pledge in the city, a Prosbul may be written on its security. Rabbi Huspit says: They may write a Prosbul for a husband on the security of his wife's property, or for orphans on the security of their guardians' property.
Comment: Since all debts were cancelled by the sabbatical year (Deut 15:2-3), it became increasingly difficult as the sabbatical year approached to raise loans. Hillel's Prosbul allowed debts to be collected after the sabbatical year: the written declaration, signed by the court, made the court ultimately responsible for the collection of the debt, and the court, being a corporate body, was not affected by the law of Deut 15:2—3, which envisages transactions between individuals. It illustrates how clever jurists could ameliorate the law. Ifthe tradition is genuine, then it suggests that the sabbatical year was still being observed in the time of Hillel in the early first
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century CE. The term Prosbul is probably a shortening of the Greek pros boule(i) bouleuton, 'before the assembly of counsellors'. See further MAJ GEN B.8, n.
for himself many wives' (Deut 17:17). On the Temple Scroll see MAJ GEN E.g.
5. Damascus Document (CD), 10:14-11:18: Sabbath Laws
4. The Temple Scroll (n QTemple), 56:12—57:21: Laws Regarding the King
(10.14) Concerning the sabbath, how to observe it according to its law.
No man shall (15) work on the sixth day from the moment when the sun's disc is (16) distant from the gate [where it sets] by its full diameter, for this is what Scripture means by saying, 'Observe (17) the sabbath day to sanctify if (Deut 5:12).
(56:12) When you have come into the land that I am giving to you, and you have taken possession of it, and settled (13) in it, and you say, 'I shall set over myself a king like all the peoples round about me', (14) then set over yourself a king whom I will choose. From your brothers you may set a king over yourselves (ijj but you may not place over yourselves a stranger who is not your brother. Even so he may not (16) acquire for himself many horses nor lead the peopleback to Egypt to make war in order (17) to acquire for himself many horses and much silver and gold, since I have said to you: 'You must never (18) return on that way again.'And he must not acquire for himself many wives, lest they turn his heart away from me. Also silver and gold he must not acquire for himself in great quantity. (20) And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, they shall write (21) for him this Torah on a scroll in the presence of the priests.
No man shall speak (18) a vain or idle word on the sabbath day. He shall not make a loan to his neighbour. He shall not take any decision relating to money or profit. (19) He shall say nothing about matters of business or work to be done on the following day.
(20) No man shall walk about in the field to carry out his tasks (21) on the sabbath. He shall not walk more than one thousand cubits beyond his town.
(22) No man shall eat on the sabbath day anything that has not been prepared beforehand. He shall not eat anything lying about (23) in the field. He shall drink only in the camp, (n.i) If he is on a journey and goes down to bathe, he may drink where he stands, but he may not draw water into (2) any vessel.
(57:1) And this is the Torah [that they shall write for the king in the presence of the] priests. (2) On the day when they install hi[m] as king [they shall take a cejnsus of the Israelites from (3) 20 years old to 60 years old, according to their divisions, and he will appoint (4) at their head commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, (5) and commanders of tens throughout all their cities. And he shall select for himself from them a thousand men (6) from each tribe, so that he shall have with him twelve thousand warriors (7) who will never leave him unattended, so that he can be taken captive by the nations. And all (8) those selected men whom he has chosen shall be honest, God-fearing, (9) disdaining ill-gotten gain, able-bodied warriors. And they shall stay with him constantly, (10) day and night, to guard him from every sin
He shall not send a Gentile to do an errand on the sabbath day. (3) No man shall put on dirty clothes, or clothes that have been kept in a store, unless (4) they have been washed with water or rubbed with frankincense.
No man shall starve himself (?) voluntarily (5) on the sabbath. No man shall walk after an animal to pasture it outside his town (6) more than two thousand cubits. He shall not raise his hand to strike it with his fist. If (7) it is stubborn he shall not take it out of his house.
No man shall take anything from his house (8) outside, or bring anything from outside into the house. If he is in a temporary shelter, he shall not take anything out from it (9) nor bring anything in.
(n) and from foreigners, lest they should take him captive.
He shall not open a sealed jar on the sabbath. No man shall carry on himself (10) perfumes while going out and coming in on the sabbath.
Twelve (12) leaders of his people shall be with him, and twelve Priests and (13) twelve Levites. They shall sit in council with him to administer justice (14) and Torah. And he shall not be too proud to listen to them, nor shall he do anything (15) without their advice.
He shall not lift in his dwelling-house (n) either stone or dust. No man minding a child shall carry it while going out or coming in on the sabbath.
He may not take a wife from any of (16) the daughters of the nations; rather he shall take for himself a wife from his father's house, (17) from his father's family. And he may not take any other woman in addition to her, but (18) she alone shall be with him as long as she lives. And if she dies, he may take (19) for himself another wife from his father's house, from his family.
(12) No man shall scold his male or female slave or his hired servant on the sabbath.
(13) No man shall help an animal to give birth on the sabbath day. And if it should fall into a cistern (14) or pit, he shall not lift it out on the sabbath.
He must not pervent justice, (20) nor take a bribe to pervert righteous judgement. And he shall not covet (21) any field, vineyard, property, house or anything valuable in Israel so as to steal [it].
No man should rest in a place close (15) to Gentiles on the sabbath.
No man shall profane the sabbath for the sake of [acquiring] wealth or profit on the sabbath day.
Comment: Comparison with the law of the king in Deut 17:14— 20 shows that the Temple Scroll not only repeats the biblical text more or less verbatim, but also interprets it and supplements it with new laws. 56:12-21 largely reproduces Deuteronomy, the standard text of which is presented in italics above. Note, however, that the Temple Scroll systematically recasts the passage in the first person ('the land that I am giving you', rather than 'the land that the LORD your God is giving you', emphases added). 57:1—21 purports to contain the contents of the scroll which Deuteronomy stipulates should be written for the king on his accession to the throne. Its laws regarding the royal bodyguard and the royal council (consisting of equal representation from the three estates—People, Priests, and Levites) are not biblical, nor is its law that the royal consort must be from the king's clan. And its stipulation that the king must have only one wife at a time is a curiously strict interpretation of the Deuteronomic injunction not to 'acquire
(16) If anyone falls into water or [into a pit], (17) no one should pull him out with the aid of a ladder or rope or any such instrument.
No man shall offer on the altar on the sabbath any offering (18) other than the sabbath burnt-offering, for thus it is written, 'Except your sabbath offerings' (Lev 23:38).
Comment: The laws found in this sectarian document go well beyond the outline sabbath legislation in the Torah. The position taken is strict. Saving of human life on sabbath is permitted, but not if a utensil has to be used! Saving of animal life is not permitted (cf. Mt 12:11; Lk 14:5; Deut 22:4), nor is assistance to an animal giving birth. A child may not be carried between one domain and another, nor may perfumes be worn (presumably in containers such as sachets or phials), since this would constitute 'carrying'—a form of work forbidden on the sabbath. A strict position is also taken on the feeding and watering of animals on the sabbath, which would
813 POST-BIBLICAL JEWISH LITERATURE
that streams of liquid do not separate between impure (57) [an pure liquids, for the poured liquid and the liquid in the receptacle into which it is poured are alike, (58) a single liquid.
obviously have been an issue in farming communities (cf. Lk 13:15). One may 'walk after' (the language is precise; one may not lead') the animal no more than 2,000 cubits out of the town. Note also the stipulation to 'add' to the sabbath, i.e. begin it early, before the sun has actually set, in order to avoid any risk of profaning it. On the Damascus Document see MAJ GEN B.IO and F.3.
And one must not bring dogs into the h[o]ly camp for they (59) may eat some of the [b]ones from the Sanctuafry] to which meat is still attached. For (60) Jerusalem is the holy camp and the place (61) which God has chosen from all the tribes of Isfrael. For Jerusalem is the head of (62) the [c]amps of Israel...
(C.y) [And you know that] we have separated ourselves from the mass of the peofple and from all their impurity, (8) and] from joining with them in these matters, or going along w[ith them] in these things. And you k[now that no] (9) treachery or lie or evil can be found in our hands, for [w]e are paying [close attention] to [these matters].
6. Mishnah, Baba Batra, 2:1—3: On Not Causing an Nuisance to Neighbours
(2:1) No one may dig a cistern (on his own land) close to a cistern of his neighbour; nor may he dig a trench, cave, water-channel, or laundrypool unless he keeps it at least three handbreadths away from his neighbour's wall, and plasters its sides with lime. He must keep oliverefuse, manure, salt, lime, or stones at least three handbreadths away from his neighbour's wall, and he must plaster it with lime. He must keep seeds and furrows and urine at least three handbreadths away from the wall. Millstones must be kept at least three handbreadths from the wall measuring from the lower millstone, or four measuring from the the upper millstone. An oven must be kept at least three handbreadths from the wall measuring from the belly of the oven, or four measuring from the rim.
[And furthermore] (10) we [have written] to you (sing.) so that you should understand the Book of Moses [and] the Bookfs of the Pr]ophets and Davi[d and the enactments] of every age. And in the Book is written [ for] (12) you, and the former things [—]. And furthermore it is written that [you would depart] from the w[a]y and that evil would befall [you] (cf. Deut 31:29).
Comment: The text has been patched together out of fragments from different copies of the original work. The 'you' (sing.) of C.io is probably the high priest of the day, to whom the writer has sent a letter disputing certain interpretations of the law proposed by a third party. The issues may now seem very trivial, but they were of vital interest to priests who had to maintain strict and complex purity laws. If pure water in one vessel is poured into impure water in another, the pure water is contaminated as soon as the stream of pure water touches the impure water. The alternative view presumably was that the pure water remained pure because impurity could not travel upwards against the flow of the stream. The attitude towards the physically challenged is also noteworthy. At Qumran there was a move to exclude anyone with physical impairment from public worship, just as any physically handicapped priest was excluded from public dutes. On the Halakic Letter see MAJ GEN B.I2.
(2) No one may set up an oven inside a house unless there is a void of four cubits above it. If he sets it up in an upstairs room there must be a concrete floor at least three handbreadths thick beneath it, or, for a small stove, one handbreadth thick; and if it causes damage (to the floor) the owner of the oven must pay for the damage caused. Rabbi Simeon says: These measurements were stipulated so that if, (having observed them,) damage ensues, he will not be liable to pay.
(3) No one may open a bakery or a dyer's workshop beneath his neighbour's food-store, nor (may he open) a cowshed. In fact, they allowed all these under a wine-store, apart from the cowshed. If someone wants to open a shop within a courtyard, his neighbour may stop him on the grounds that he would not be able to sleep because of the noise of the customers. However, if he is making articles to take out and sell in the market, his neighbour cannot stop him on the grounds that he would be unable to sleep because of the noise of the hammer, or the noise of the millstones. Nor can he protest about the noise of (school) children.
C. Apocalyptic
Comment: The matters dealt with here would be regarded today as secular and falling within the remit of municipal planning by-laws. Here no such distinction between 'religious' and 'secular' applies: to create a civil society is a religious duty. The formulation of the law, as throughout the Mishnah, is casuistic, i.e. concrete illustrations are given of a fundamental principle, which is not itself stated. Here the underlying principle (the kelal) is clear: no one, even when acting within his own domain, has a right to cause a nuisance to a neighbour. These laws are not found in the Torah, but can be seen as an attempt to work out concretely the commandment to 'love your neighbour as yourself (Lev 19:18). On the Mishnah see MAJ GEN B.II.
1. 2 Enoch, 22:5—23:2: Enoch's Ascent to Heaven
(22:5) And the Lord, with his own mouth, said to me, 'Courage, Enoch, do not fear! Arise and stand before my face forever.' (6) And Michael, the archistratege [highest archangel], lifted me up and led me before the face of the Lord. And the Lord said to his servants, testing them, 'Let Enoch ascend and stand before my face forever!' (7) And the Lord's glorious ones bowed down and said, 'Let Enoch ascend in accordance with your will, O Lord!'
(8) And the Lord said to Michael, 'Go and take Enoch out of his earthly garments and anoint him with sweet oil, and put him in the garments of my glory.' (9) And Michael did so, as the Lord had commanded him. He anointed me and clothed me. And the sheen of that oil was brighter than the greatest light, its texture was like sweet dew, its fragrance like myrrh, and its glitter like the sun's rays. (10) And I looked at myself, and I had become like one of his glorious ones, and there was no visible difference.
7. The Halakic Letter (4QMMT), 6.52-62 + €.7-12: Disputes over the Interpretation of the Law
(6.52) [And furtherjmore concerning the deaf who have not heard the statute, the [judjgement or [the rules of] purity, and have not (53) [hejard the ordinances of Israel, [we are of the opinion] that he who has not seen and has not heard [these] does not (54) [k]now how to perform [them]. However, they may partake of the pu[r]e food of the Sanctuary.
And the Lord summoned one of his archangels, Vrevoil by name, who was more versed in wisdom than the other archangels, and who records all the Lord's deeds, (n) And the Lord said to Vrevoil, 'Bring out the books from my storehouses, and fetch a reed for speedwriting, and give it to Enoch and dictate to him the books.' And Vrevoil made haste and brought me the books... and he gave me the reed for speed-writing from his hand. (23:1) And he told me about all that happens in heaven, on earth, and in the sea, about all the
(55) [And] furthermore, concerning streams of liquid, we are of the opinion that they are not in themselves (56) [p]ure, and furthermore
POST-BIBLICAL JEWISH LITERATURE 814
elements, their motions and courses, and how thunder thunders, about the sun, the moon, and the stars, their courses and their changes, about the seasons, days, and hours, how clouds are formed and the winds blow, about the number of the angels and the songs of the Armed Host [the angels], about the language of every kind of human song, about rules and regulations and sweet-voiced singing, and about everything that it is permitted to learn.
God's heavenly throne itself, in the celestial palaces. It is unclear whether he ascends here to heaven physically (as he does in 2 Enoch: see ANTH c.i), or in spirit, or whether heaven is simply shown to him in a dream, and he dreams of ascending. The heavenly world is a hostile environment for humans, disorientating and paradoxical, and the terrestrial laws of nature do not apply there: ice can exist in the middle of fire, and the larger of the two celestial houses can be located inside the smaller. The idea of heaven as a topsy-turvy world where opposites meet was to be exploited at length later by the Jewish Hekalot mystics of the later Talmudic period. On i Enoch see
Comment: This extract, from the longer recension of 2 Enoch, records the climax of Enoch's ascent through the seven heavens. Even though he has reached the highest heaven he is still in his 'earthly garments' (his terrestrial body). But he cannot remain in that form if he is to stand before the Lord's face forever, for flesh and blood cannot endure heaven: he must be transformed into an angel. His transformation involves not only the divesting of his flesh but the illuminating of his mind. The prominence of cosmology in the instruction that he receives is noteworthy. God's testing of the angels to see if they will oppose Enoch's transformation hints at the idea, widespread in early Judaism, that the angels are jealous when humans intrude into the heavenly realm. On 2 Enoch see MAJ GEN 0.4-5.
MAJ GEN A-7-
3. i Enoch, 46:1—4; 48:2—7; 69:26—9: The Heavenly Son of Man
(46:1) And I saw there one who was Ancient of Days [lit. Head of Days], and his head was white like wool, and with him was another whose face had the appearance of a man. His face was full of graciousness, like one of the angels. (2) And I asked one of the angels who accompanied me, and showed me all the secrets, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, whence he had come, and why he was with the Ancient of Days. (3) He answered and said to me: This is the Son of Man who possesses righteousness, and with whom righteousness dwells; and all the treasures regarding what is hidden he reveals, for the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and his destiny is always to be victorious before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.'...
2. i Enoch, 14:8—25: God's Celestial Palace
(14:8) And in the vision thus it appeared to me: Behold, clouds called me in the vision, and mists summoned me. Shooting-stars and lightnings urged me on and whirled me along, and in my vision winds gave me wing, and lifted me up and carried me into heaven.
(48:2) And at that hour the Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name was mentioned before the Ancient of Days. (3) Even before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. (4) He shall be a staff to the righteous, that they may lean on him and not fall, and he shall be a light to the Gentiles, and a hope to those who are troubled in their hearts. (5) All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and shall glorify, bless, and celebrate with song the name of the Lord of Spirits. (6) And forthis reason he has been chosen and hidden before him from before the creation of the world and for evermore. (7) And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits has revealed him to the holy and righteous; for he has preserved the portion of the righteous, because they hate and despise this unrighteous world, and hate all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits: for in his name they will be saved and he will be the vindicator of their lives
(9) And I went in till I came near a wall built of hailstones, with tongues of fire surrounding it; and they began to terrify me. (10) And I went into the tongues of fire and approached a large house built of hailstones; and the walls of the house were like paving stones, all of snow. Its lower floors were of snow; (n) its upper floors were like shooting-stars and lightnings, and in the midst of them were fiery Cherubim, and their heaven was like water. (12) And fire was burning round the walls, and the doors were ablaze with fire. (13) And I entered that house, and it was hot as fire and cold as snow; and there was nothing to sustain life in it. Fear overwhelmed me, and trembling seized me, (14) and, shaking and trembling, I fell down.
And I saw in my vision, (15) and behold, another door lay open before me, and [another] house larger than the former, and it was entirely built of tongues of fire. (16) And it surpassed the other house so totally in glory, splendour, and size that I am unable to describe to you its glory and size. (17) It lower storey was of fire, its upper storey of lightnings and shooting-stars, and its roof of blazing fire. (18) And I looked and saw a lofty throne, and its appearance was like ice-crystals; and there was a wheel like the [disc of] the shining sun, and a choir (?) of Cherubim. (19) And from beneath the throne streams of blazing fire flowed out, and I was unable to look. (20) The Great Glory sat on it, and his garment was brighter than the sun, and whiter than any snow. (21) And no angel was able to enter this house, or look on his face, because of the splendour and glory; and no flesh was able to look at him. (22) A fire blazed round him, and a great fire stood in front of him, and no one approached him. All round ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, and his every word was a deed. (23) And the most holy angels who were near to him do not leave him by night or by day, nor do they depart from him. (24) As for me, till then I had been prostrate on my face, trembling. And the Lord called me with his own mouth and said to me: 'Come here, Enoch, and hear my word.' (25) And one of the holy angels came to me, raised me up, stood me on my feet and brought me to the door; and I bowed down my face.
(69:26) And they had great joy, and they gave blessing, glory, and praise, because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed to them. (27) And he sat on the throne of his glory, and all judgement was given to the Son of Man, and he will cause sinners to pass away and be destroyed from the face of the earth, and those who have led the world astray (28) shall be bound with chains and imprisoned in the assembly-place of destruction, and their works shall vanish from the face of the earth. (29) And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible, for that Son of Man has appeared, and has seated himself on the throne of his glory, and everything evil shall pass away and depart from before his face, and the word of that Son of Man shall prevail before the Lord of Spirits.
Comment: This late stratum of i Enoch offers a reinterpretation of Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days in Dan 7:9-14. There the Son of Man seems to be Israel's symbolic representative in heaven, who accepts, on Israel's behalf, political dominion over her earthly enemies. Here, however, he appears to be a pre-existent angelic figure, the champion of the righteous, who will be revealed from heaven at the end of history to pass judgement on sinners. The relationship of the
Comment: This impressive vision marks Enoch's calling to the prophetic office (cf Isa 6; Ezek i). He is commissioned before
815 POST-BIBLICAL JEWISH LITERATURE
Enochic Son of Man to early Christology, and to the appellation 'son of man' for Jesus in the gospels, is a matter of intense debate. On i Enoch see MAJ GEN A.y.
reach its literary climax in Dante's Inferno. On i Enoch see
MAJ GEN A.7.
5. i Enoch, 93:3—10; 91:11—17: The Pattern of History
4. i Enoch, 22:1-13: A Vision of Hell
(93:3) Then Enoch took up his discourse and said: I was born the seventh of the First Week, while justice and righteousness still endured. (4) And thereafter in the Second Week great wickedness shall arise, and deceit spring up; and in it (the Second Week) the First End will occur, and in it a man shall be saved. And after it has ended, oppression shall increase, and he shall make a law for sinners. (5) And thereafter, in the Third Week, at its close, a man shall be chosen as a plant of righteous judgement; and his posterity (?) shall emerge as a plant of righteousness for ever. (6) And thereafter, in the Fourth Week, at its close, visions of holy ones and of righteousness shall be revealed, and a Law for all generations, and a Court shall be made for them. (7) And thereafter, in the Fifth Week, at its close, a house of glory and dominion shall be built for ever. (8) And thereafter, in the Sixth Week, all who live then shall be blinded, and the hearts of all of them, forsaking wisdom, shall become godless. And in it a man shall arise; and at its close the house of dominion shall be burnt with fire, and in it the whole race of the Chosen Plant shall be dispersed. (9) And thereafter, in the Seventh Week, an apostate generation shall arise; its misdeeds shall be many and all its doings perverse. (10) And at its close the Elect Ones shall be chosen, as witnesses to righteousness, from the Eternal Plant of righteousness, to whom shall be given sevenfold instruction concerning all his creation. (91:11) And they shall uproot the foundations of oppression, and the works of falsehood therein, in order to execute judgement. (12) And thereafter there shall arise the Eighth Week of righteousness, in which a sword shall be given to all the righteous, to execute a righteous judgement on all the wicked, and they will be given over into their hands. (13) And at its close they shall acquire riches in righteousness, and a Royal House shall be built for the Great King in splendour for ever. (14) And thereafter, in the Ninth Week righteous judgement shall be revealed to all the children of the whole earth, and the deeds of the wicked shall vanish from the whole earth, and they shall be cast into the eternal pit, and all men shall look to the path of eternal righteousness. (15) And thereafter in the Tenth Week, in the seventh part of it, eternal judgement and the time appointed for the Great Judgement shall be executed upon the Watchers. (16) And in it the first heaven shall pass away, and a new heaven shall appear, and all the powers of heaven shall arise for evermore with a sevenfold light. (17) And thereafter there shall be many Weeks (to all their number there shall be no end for ever) in which they shall perform goodness and righteousness; and sin shall be spoken of no more for ever. (17^?) And the righteous shall awake from their sleep, and they shall arise and walk in the paths of righteousness; and unrighteousness shall totally cease, and the earth shall be at rest from oppression, for all generations for ever.
(22:1) And he (the angel Uriel) showed me, towards the west, a large and lofty mountain of hard rock, (2) with four hollows in it, deep and wide and very smooth, three of them dark, and one bright, with a spring of water in its midst. And I said: 'How smooth are those hollows, and deep and dark to look at.' (3) Then Raphael, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said to me: 'These hollows are there so that the spirits of the souls of the dead should be gathered together into them. For this purpose were they created so that here all the souls of men should be gathered together. (4) And these places were made for their reception, until the day of their judgement and until the appointed time when the great judgement will come upon them.' (5) There I saw the spirit of a dead man making complaint; and his lamentation reached up to heaven as he cried out and complained. (6) Then I asked Raphael, the Watcher and Holy One who was with me, and I said to him: 'Whose is this spirit whose voice thus reaches heaven in complaint?' (7) And he answered me saying: This is the spirit that came forth from Abel whom Cain, his brother, slew: and Abel will make complaint against him till his offspring perishes from the face of the earth, and from the offspring of men his offspring is destroyed.'
(8) Then I asked about the hollows, why they are separated one from the other. (9) And he answered me, saying: "These three (? four) hollows were made so that the spirits of the dead might be separated. That one, in which there is a bright spring of water, was set apart for the spirits of the righteous. (10) That one was created for the spirits of the sinners, when they die and are buried in the earth, but judgement has not been executed upon them during their lives,
(n) Here their spirits shall be set apart for this great torment, until the great day of judgement, of scourgings and of torments for those who are eternally accursed, so that retribution may be exacted from their spirits: there he shall bind them forever. (12) That (third hollow) has been set apart for the spirits of those who make complaint, who have information to give regarding their destruction, when they were murdered in the days of the sinners. (13) That
(fourth hollow) has been created for the spirits of men who are not righteous but sinners, and who have collaborated with the lawless, but because they have endured suffering here (in this life) their spirits receive a lesser punishment, and retribution shall not be exacted from them on the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from there.'
Comment: The gloomy netherworld (Sheol) of earlier Hebrew thought (the equivalent of the Homeric Hades), into which the spirits of the dead, good and bad alike, descend, is here compartmentalized. In earlier tradition the dead survive only as attentuated, barely sentient ghosts. Here they experience a more vivid life and feel intensely pleasure and pain. The four compartments are assigned respectively to the righteous, to sinners who have died unpunished, to the murdered, and to sinners who have died having been, at least in part, punished while they were alive. These ideas arose after the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead for judgement emerged (see ANTH c.g). To have left the righteous and the wicked in the same, undifferentiated, joyless state between death and final judgement was morally repugnant to some, so they held that the final judgement is anticipated for each individual on the point of death, and each, in accordance with his deeds, has at once a foretaste of his final destiny. We have here the first glimmerings of the 'Tours of Hell' literature which was to
Comment: Schematizations of history, common in apocalyptic (cf. Dan 9:24-7; Rev 6-n—the seven seals and the seven trumpets), were to influence profoundly the Western imagination by creating a sense that history is moving purposefully towards a grand climax (for the apocalyptists the messianic age and the Jast judgement). Here history is divided into ten symboJic weeks. The writer probabJy beJieved that he was writing towards the end of the seventh week. The previous weeks cover crypticaJJy the bibJicaJ history; the following weeks all lie, from his standpoint, in the future. The eighth week is, in effect, the beginning of the messianic redemption: therefore the end of history is imminent. See further MAJ GEN A.7, c.2.
POST-BIBLICAL JEWISH LITERATURE 816
from the Wilderness of the Nations to encamp in the Wilderness of Jerusalem, and after the battle they shall go up (to Jerusalem) from there. (4) And [the King] of the Kittim [shall enter] into Egypt, and in his time he shall set out in great wrath to wage war against the kings of the north, and in his anger he shall destroy and cut off the horn (5) of [Israel]. That shall be a time of salvation for the people of God, and an appointed time of dominion for all the members of his company, but of everlasting destruction for all the company of Belial. Grfeat] panic (6) [shall seize] the Sons of Japhet, and Assyria shall fall with none to help her. The dominion of the Kittim shall pass away and iniquity shall be vanquished, leaving no remnant; (7) there shall be no escape [for the Sons] of Darkness, (8) [but the Sons of Righteousjness shall shine to all the ends of the earth; they shall go on shining till all the seasons of darkness are ended and, at God's appointed time, his exalted greatness shall shine (9) etfernally] for the peace, blessing, glory, joy, and long life of all the Sons of Light.
6.2 Apocalypse of 'Baruch, 70:2-71:1; 72:2-73:1: Messianic Woes, Messianic Redemption
(70:2) Behold, days are coming, and when the time of the world has ripened, and the time to harvest whatever of good or evil has been sown has come, then the Mighty One will bring upon the earth and upon its inhabitants and its rulers confusion of spirit and consternation of mind. (3) And they will hate one another, and provoke one another to fight. Obscure men will have dominion over men of repute, and the low-born will be exalted above the nobles. (4) The many will be delivered into the hands of the few, and those who are nothing will lord it over the strong, the poor will have greater abundance than the rich, and the wicked will prevail over the valiant. (5) The wise will be silent, and fools will speak. Neither the designs of ordinary men nor the plans of the powerful will come to anything, nor will the hope of those who hope be fulfilled. (6) And when what has been predicted has come to pass, then confusion will fall upon all men: some of them will fall in battle, some of them will perish in tribulations, and some of them will be destroyed by their own people. (7) Then the Most High will reveal those peoples whom he has prepared beforehand, and they will come and make war with the leaders that then remain. (8) And whoever escapes in the war will die by the earthquake, and whoever escapes the earthquake will be burned by fire, and whoever escapes the fire will perish through famine. (9) And whoever, whether victor or the vanquished, escapes all these things, and emerges safe and sound, will be delivered into the hands of my Servant, the Messiah. (10) For the whole earth will devour its inhabitants. (71:1) But the Holy Land will have mercy on its own, and will protect its inhabitants at that time
On the day when the Kittim shall fall, there shall be fighting and terrible carnage before the God (10) of Israel, for that shall be the day appointed from of old for a war of annihilation against the Sons of Darkness. Then the assembly of gods and the congregation of men shall clash with great carnage, (n) the Sons of Light and the Company of Darkness fighting together to (make manifest) God's might, amid the sound of a great tumult and the clamour of gods and men—a day of calamity! It shall be a time of (12) g[reat] tribulation for the people whom God shall redeem; of all their afflictions none shall be like this, from its sudden onset till its end in eternal redemption.
On the day of their battle against the Kittim (13) [they shall set out to wreak] carnage in battle. In three skirmishes the Sons of Light shall prevail and strike down iniquity, and in three skirmishes Belial's host shall rally and repel the Company (14) [of God. And when the detachjments of foot-soldiers begin to falter, then shall God's might strengthen [the hearts of the Sons of Light]. And during the seventh skirmish the mighty hand of God shall subdue (15) [the army of Belial, and all] the angels of his dominion, and all the members [of his company with an everlasting destruction].
(72:2) After the signs, about which I have spoken to you before, have appeared, when the nations are troubled, and the time of my Messiah has come, he will call all the nations together. Some of them he will spare, but others he will destroy. (3) This is what will happen to the nations spared by him. (4) Every nation that has not conquered Israel nor trampled the race of Jacob underfoot will be spared. (5) And they will be treated thus because, out of all the peoples, they have been submissive to your people. (6) But all those who have exercised dominion over you, or have conquered you, will be given over to the sword. (73:1) And when he has brought the whole world low, and has sat down in peace for ever on the throne of his kingdom, then joy shall be revealed, and rest made manifest.
Comment: So seriously did the Qumran sect believe that they would play a role in the eschatological conflict between the forces of good (the Sons of Light) and the forces of evil (the Sons of Darkness) that, like a General Staff, they composed war-books in which they worked out the strategy and tactics that they would adopt. The war would be a real war, involving bloody carnage, but parallel to the human conflict would be a clash of spiritual agencies headed respectively by God, or God's angelic general, Michael, and Belial (the Devil). The political protagonists in the last battle are given biblical codenames. The Kittim are probably the Romans, the Kittim of Assyria the Persians. A global conflict between Rome and Persia would enable Israel (or the elect of Israel) to intervene and to triumph over both these superpowers. On the War Scroll see MAJ GEN c.8.
Comment: There was a widespread belief among apocalyptists that the coming of the Messiah would be preceded by a time of unparalleled tribulation for the righteous, often accompanied by prodigies and wonders in nature. In 2 Apoc. Bar. the messianic woes are characterized primarily by the overthrow of civil society, though natural disasters (earthquake and famine) also play a part. The onset of the messianic woes is a sure sign of the end, but 2 Apoc. Bar. describes them in a such a vague way that anyone affected by the apocalyptic mentality could always fancy he could detect them beginning in his own days. The Messiah glimpsed here is a purely political figure— a king who would lead Israel to victory against her political enemies and give her world dominion. On 2 Apoc. Bar. see MAJ GEN c.6.
8. The Messianic Rule (iQSa), 2:11-22: The Messianic Banquet
(2:11) [This shall be the ass]embly of the men of renown [called] to the meeting of the Council of the Community.
7. The War Scroll (iQM), 1:1-15: The War to End All Wars
When God brings (12) the (royal) Messiah, the priest(ly Messiah) shall come with them [at] the head of the whole congregation of Israel and of all (13) [his brethren, the sons] of Aaron, the priests, [those called] to the assembly, the men of renown; and they shall sit (14) beffore him, each man] in the order of his dignity. And then [the Mess]iah of Israel shall [enter], and the chiefs of (15) the [clans of Israel] shall sit before him, [each] in the order of his dignity, according to [his place] in their camps and on their manoeuvres. (16) And all the heads of [ family of the congregation, and their sagefs
(1:1) For the M[aster. The Rule of] War. The first engagement of the Sons of Light shall be to attack the company of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial—the troops of Edom, Moab, and the Sons ofAmmon, the ar[my of the inhabitants] (2) ofPhilistia, and the troops of the Kittim of Assyria, with whom the Covenant-breakers have allied themselves...
(3) The Sons of Levi, the Sons of Judah and the Sons of Benjamin, the exiles of the wilderness, shall fight against them [ ] according to all their troops, when the exiles of the Sons of Light shall return
817 POST-BIBLICAL JEWISH LITERATURE
and scholars], shall sit before them, each in the order of (17) his dignity.
beauty of the Living Creatures that are beneath the Throne, as well as all the armies of the angels, who are now held back by my word lest they should reveal themselves, and are restrained by my command, so that they may keep their stations till the time of their advent comes. (12) Then shall the splendour of the righteous exceed even the splendour of the angels. (13) For the first shall receive the last, for whom they have been waiting, and the last shall receive those whom they have heard had passed away.
And [when they] shall assemble for the common [tabjle, [to partake of bread and n]ew wine, and the common table is set (18) [for eating and the] new wine (poured) for drinkfing], no man shall reach out his hand to the first fruits of (19) the bread or [the win]e before the priest; for [it is he] who shall bless the first fruits of the bread (20) and the win[e, and shall be the first to reach out] his hand to the bread. Thereafter], the Messiah of Israel [shall reajch out his hand (21) to the bread, [and then] all the congregation of the community [shall pronounce a bles]sing, [each man in the order] of his dignity.