[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

10. Heb. 'whom Thou didst test at Massah'. It has long been pointed out by commentators that there is
in fact nothing about the incident at Massah recorded in Ex. 17.5-7 to connect it specifically with a
testing of the levites. The word, however, itself means 'testing', and it is therefore probable that our
author—and perhaps even the original writer—intended it only as a common noun and not as a place-
name.
11. Heb. 'with whom Thou didst contend (enter suit) by the waters of Meribah'. Here, again, there is no
ostensible relationship between the incidents at Meribah recorded in Ex. 17.5-7 or Num. 20.3, 13, 24
and any trial of the levites. The word, however, means simply 'contention, suit', so that here too it is
probable that the author intended it only as a common noun, in which case he would be referring
figuratively to trial by waters of ordeal (cp. Num. 5.17).
12. The Masoretic text and the Ancient Versions read, 'They shall teach (Heb. yoru) Thy judgments to
Jacob'. But in changing this to the very similar Hebrew word (ya'iru) meaning 'they shall bring the
light', our author is not merely blundering; he is harking back to the allegorical interpretation of 'Thine
Urim' in the preceding lines; see above, n.9.
13. In the Scriptural context, these lines refer to the sacrificial functions of the levites. Here, however,
they are understood in a figurative sense: obedience to the Torah (Law) is equivalent to setting a
pleasant savour in the nostrils of God, and wholehearted devotion to the presentation of a whole burnt
offering upon His altar.
14. Written in archaic script.
=======
E. The Discomfiture Of The Impious
15. A Jewish tradition, hitherto known only from later sources, says that the Alenw-prayer, one of the
most prominent elements of the liturgy (S. Singer, Authorized Daily Prayerbook, p. 76), was
composed by Joshua upon entering the Holy Land, and the 'Al ken nekavveh, which now serves as its
continuation, after Achan had confessed his guilt respecting the appropriation of forbidden booty after
the sack of Jericho (Jos. 7.1-26). Joshua is said also to have intoned a lengthy hymn of praise after
defending the Gibeonites (Sepher ha-Yashar, 135b-136a), and is likewise credited with the authorship
of the Second Benediction in the traditional Grace after Meals (Talmud, Berachoth, 48b). Samaritan
tradition similarly attributes to him one of the cardinal prayers of the Defter (i.e., Greek diphthera,
'codex'), the earliest element of the liturgy (A. E. Cowley, The Samaritan Liturgy [1909], pp. 4f.);
while in the mediaeval Samaritan-Arabic Book of Joshua, several prayers by that hero are interspersed
in the narrative. Fragments of hymns (or psalms) attributed to Joshua have indeed been found at
Qumran.
16. The Masoretic text adds, 'even Jericho'. Our author omits the words in order to accommodate the
Scriptural passage to the rebuilding of Jerusalem!
17. Cp. Hos. 9.8; Ps. 91.3.
18. In Gen. 49.5 the expression, 'instruments of violence' is used in connection with the brothers
Simeon and Levi. Hence, the reference here would most naturally be to a pair of brothers, but precisely
who cannot yet be determined with certainty. Allegro ingeniously suggests that the reference is to
Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, the two sons of Alexander Jannaeus, to the latter of whom Caesar
indeed gave permission, in 47 B.C., to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 8.5; 10.5;
War, I, 10.3). Alternatively, we may perhaps think of Phasael and Herod, sons of Antipater, who were
appointed by their father governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 9.2)
and later (43 B.C.) by Mark Antony as tetrarchs in charge of the public affairs of the Jews (ib., XIV,
13.1). The reference to the building of the walls and towers of Jerusalem might then allude more
specifically to Herod's repair of the walls and erection of the towers of Hippicus, Phasael and
Mariamne after he had become king of Judaea in 30 B.C. The 'man of Belial' would, in this case, be
either Antipater or Mark Antony.
19. This would be consonant with the fact that Phasael governed Jerusalem and its vicinity, and Herod
the territory of Galilee. The former, the eldest son of Antipater, committed suicide after falling into the
hands of the Parthian allies of Antigonus, last king of the Hasmoneans (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 13.10),
while Herod was eventually afflicted by severe disease and a kind of madness, which Josephus (Ant.,
XVII, 6.5; War, I, 38.5) attributes to the vengeance of God. Thus, the curse of Joshua 6.26 (as our
author understood it) may be said to have been fulfilled in their fate. It is true that Herod was not the
youngest son of Antipater, as a strict application of the Scriptural text might seem to require, but the
Hebrew word rendered 'lastborn' literally means no more than 'younger' and could therefore quite
properly be referred to Herod ass the junior of Phasael.
=======
III. A 'Messianic1 Florilegium
1. The traditional Jewish (Masoretic) text reads in the plural, 'sons of perversity'.
2. Literally, 'a sanctuary of man'. Some scholars have thought that this means a man-made sanctuary
(temple), in contrast to that which God's own hands are said to have established. But the true,
metaphorical meaning is apparent on comparison with Manual, ix.6 (above, p. 63). The same
sentiment is to be found in I Cor. 3.16-17 and in Eph. 2.19-22.
3. The 'stumbling blocks' are part of the eschatological picture painted in the Bible itself: cp. Dan.
11.33-34; Mal. 2.4-9.
4. Cp. Manual, i.23-24 (above, p. 45); 'Zadokite' Document, iv.13, 15; xii.2 (above, pp. 71, 85); War,
passim.
5. The traditional (Masoretic) text has 'made', but our reading agrees with that of the Greek
(Septuagint) Version; cp. also II Sam. 7.13; Ps. 89.5.
6. The verse is quoted in the same sense in Heb. 1.5.
7. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, vi.11 (above, p. 73); Com-mentary on Habakkuk, 1.5; 2.2, 4 (above, pp.
318, 321f.). The (priestly) 'Expounder of the Law' and the 'Scion of David' constitute the two future
'messiahs' or 'anointed ones'.
8. In 'Zadokite' Document, vii.16 (above, p. 75), the 'fallen booth of David' is taken to connote the
neglected Law (Torah).
9. This meaning is obtained by a different vocalization of the Hebrew word usually rendered,
'instructed me, reproved me'.
10. Note that, in popular speech, 'Israel' denoted the laity, in contradistinction to the priests and levites.
11. Cp. Manual, v.2; 'Zadokite' Document, iv.l (above, pp. 51, 70). This title of the priests derives from
Ezek. 40.46; 43.19, etc.
12. These words could also be rendered (but less probably), 'who seek their own counsel', i.e.,
interests.
13. The future 'Anointed One' (Messiah) is likewise styled 'the Elect' in the Book of Enoch.
14. A standard eschatological epoch in the doctrine of the Scrolls; it is based on Dan. 11.35; 12.10. Cp.
also Mal. 3.23.
=======
IV. The Wondrous Child
1. Cp. in this sense: Greek phakos (Plutarch, U.563A; 800B); phakodes (Hippocr., Epid., iii.1090);
phakosis (Hephaest, Apotel., p. 18); Latin lenticula (Pliny, HN, 20, ii.4, 5); lentigo (Pliny, HN, 30, ii.5-
a term still used in medicine for a kind of rash); Italian lentigine.
2. This restoration is suggested by Fitzmyer. It can be supported by the fact that Moses was likewise
said to have first displayed his precocity in his third year; cp. Josephus, Ant., iii.9, 6-7; Philo, Vita
Mosis i.5; L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, V. 401, n. 64. The same is said of Jesus in the apocryphal
Gospels of Thomas and of Matthew. In Jewish popular tradition, a child was not considered fully
weaned until after two years. The successive stages of the Wondrous Child's development are similarly
denned in Vergil's Fourth Eclogue, 13f., 17f., 26f., 37f.
3. Cp. Isa. 7.15, 16.
4. Lit., knows.
5. The identity of 'the three books' has proved a puzzle. Carmignac suggests that they may be the Book
of Study [Hgw] mentioned in 'Zadokite' Document, X.6; xiii.2, together with the Manual of Discipline [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]