The Apostrophe to Zion - A Philological and Structural Analysis

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 Dead Sea Discoveries 14, 2Also available online – www.brill.nl

1 J.A. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumrân Cave 11 (DJD 4; Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1965).

2 J. Starcky, “Psaumes apocryphes de la grotte 4 de Qumrân (4QPsf VII–X),” RB 73(1966) 353–71.

3 J.A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Icatha, NY: Cornell University Press,1967), 123–27.

4 P.W. Skehan, E. Ulrich and P.W. Flint, “Psalms,” Qumran Cave 4: XI, Psalms toChronicles (eds. E. Ulrich, et al.; DJD 16, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000). This edi-tion, published after the death of both Starcky and Skehan, occasionally contains divergent views on matters of reading and interpretation. I have occasionally citedthese alternative opinions as they are reported in the DJD volume.

5 This genre has been dealt with comprehensively in D. Flusser, “Jerusalem in theLiterature of the Second Temple,” Vehim Bigvurot, Fourscore Years, A Tribute toRubin and Hannah Mass on their Eightieth Birthdays (eds. A. Eben-Shushan, et al.,Jerusalem: Yedidim, 1974), 263–94. The connections with the biblical sources werealready noted by Sanders, DJD 4.85.

THE APOSTROPHE TO ZION—A PHILOLOGICAL ANDSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

MATTHEW MORGENSTERNUniversity of Haifa

Although the so-called “Apostrophe to Zion” has been known for over35 years, it has attracted surprisingly little attention from scholars, incontrast to other poetic works such as the Hodayot. In 1965, J.A.Sanders published the official edition of the poem, accompanied by aconcise commentary in which he identified the poem’s biblical sourcesand discussed briefly some of the more problematic lines.1 1966 sawStarcky’s publication of apocryphal psalm material from Qumran cave 4,which included a fragmentary parallel copy of this work in 4QPsf.2 Ayear later, Sanders took the opportunity of the publication of a popu-lar edition of the 11QPsalms manuscript to collate this material and tocorrect other minor errors.3 The official edition of 4QPsf was publishedin 2000.4

One reason for this benign scholarly neglect might be the subjectmatter, which is fairly uncontentious: the poem contains praises to thecity of Jerusalem (always referred to as “Zion”), a genre alreadyfamiliar from the bible and other post-biblical sources,5 and does notappear to contain any allusions to sectarian struggle or striking

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THE APOSTROPHE TO ZION 179

6 On sectarian and non-sectarian texts in the Qumran collection, see D. Dimant,“The Qumran Manuscripts: Contents and Significance,” Time to Prepare the Way inthe Wilderness: Papers on the Qumran Scrolls by Fellows of the Institute of AdvancedStudies of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1989–1990 (eds. D. Dimant and L.H.Schiffman; Leiden: Brill, 1995), 23–58. In the early 1990s, it became apparent thatmany of the texts in the Qumran collection are non-sectarian, and several attemptswere made to establish criteria for the identification of clearly sectarian elements. SeeC. Newsom, “‘Sectually Explicit’ Literature from Qumran,” The Hebrew Bible and ItsModern Interpreters (eds. W. Propp, B. Halpern, and D.N. Freedman; Winona Lake,IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990) 167–87; and E. Chazon, “Is Divrei Ha-MehOrot a SectarianPrayer?” The Dead Sea Scrolls, Forty Years of Research (eds. D. Dimant and U. Rap-paport; Leiden: Brill/Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, Yad Izhak Ben Zvi, 1992), 3–17.

7 L. Schiffman, “Apostrophe to Zion (11Q Psalms Scroll 22:1–15)” Prayer fromAlexander to Constantine (eds. M. Kiley, et al.; London & New York, 1997), 18–22.The poem’s acrostic structure has been discussed by H. Eshel and J. Strugnell,“Alphabetic Acrostics in Pre-Tannaitic Hebrew,” CBQ 62 (2000), 441–58: 449–53.

8 It differs entirely from the Hodayot, which have been described as chaotic. Forattempts at defining the poetic structure of the Hodayot, see B. Kittel, The Hymns ofQumran (SBLDS 50; Chico, CA: Scholars, 1980). B. Thiering, “The Poetic forms ofthe Hodayot,” JSS 8 (1963), 189–209, appears to be one of the first to take theHodayot’s poetic forms seriously, though she somewhat exaggerated the unity of itschiastic structures, and did not relate it to issues of authorship. A comprehensive studyof the poetic texts from the Second Temple period is a major desideratum.

theological positions.6 In recent years, two studies have dealt speci-fically with aspects of this text. Schiffman has published a translationaccompanied by brief comments in a collection of early prayers, whileEshel and Strugnell considered the poem’s acrostic structure in thelight of other acrostic poems from the period.7

The acrostic structure and frequent parallelism lend the work a sim-plistic appearance, which at first blush might seem to require less inci-sive study than the often-frustrating poetry of the Hodayot.8 However,in this article, I shall attempt to demonstrate that the poem is thesophisticated work of a skilful poet, who has borrowed from biblicallanguage while adapting it to his own needs and created, effectively,a new style psalm modelled on the biblical style. The discussion hereis primarily philological and structural: I aim to show how the authorreemploys biblical language advisedly to support his thesis, and thatthe overall structure similarly advances this goal.

Edition

As mentioned above, the poem survives in two manuscripts: 11QPsa

and 4QPsf. 11QPsa, apparently dating from the first half of the firstcentury CE, is written in a clear book hand, and contains a copy of

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180 MATTHEW MORGENSTERN

9 For these dates, see P.W. Skehan, E. Ulrich, and P.W. Flint, “Psalms: 4QPsf,”DJD 16.86. The authors’ suggestion that the current state of this manuscript is due toits ill treatment at the hands—or more accurately at the swords—of Roman soldiers asthey ravaged Qumran in 68 CE is intriguing.

the poem in its entirety. By contrast, 4QPsf, which was written in alate Hasmonean semi-cursive, is today preserved only in a fragmen-tary state.9 Accordingly, the text is presented here according to11QPsa, while the variants from 4QPsf have been listed below, andwill be discussed in the commentary.

In neither manuscript is the poem divided into poetic units. In11QPsa the start of the poem is indicated by a blank space of some15 letters’ width which divides between the end of the previous text(Ben Sira 51:30) and the start of the poem. The end of the poem ismarked by leaving the end of the line empty and beginning the nexttext (Ps 93) on a new line. Some extra spaces may be discernedbetween some words in the poem—before zyz in the zayin stich, before˚ynb in the yod stich—but these do not coincide with the sense divi-sions as determined by the parallelism and acrostic.

ˆwyx hkrbl ˚rwkza˚ytbha yna ydwm lwkb˚rkz μymlw[l ˚wrb

ˆwyx ˚twqt hlwdgawbl ˚t[wçy tljwtw μwlçw

˚b wrwdy rwdw rwd˚trapt μydysj twrwdw

˚[çy μwyl μywatmh˚dwbk bwrb wçyçyw

wqnyy ˚dwbk zyzwsk[y ˚trapt twbwjrbw

yrwkzt ˚yaybn ydsjyraptt ˚ydysj yç[mbw

˚wgm smj rhf˚mm wtrkn lw[w rqç

˚brqb ˚ynb wlygywwln ˚yl[ ˚ydydyw

˚t[wçyl wwq hmk˚ymt ˚yl[ wlbatywˆwyx ˚twqt dbwt awl˚tljwt jkçt awlw

qdx dba jz ymwlw[b flm hz ym wa

wkrdk μda ˆjbnμltçy wyç[mk çyaˆwyx ˚yrx wtrkn bybs˚yançm lwk wdzptyw

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ˆwyx ˚tjbçt πab hbr[lbt lkl hl[m

hkrbl ˚rwkza twbr μym[p˚krba ybbl lwkb

ygyçt μymlw[ qdxylbqt μydbkn twkrbw

˚yl[ rbwd ˆwzj yjq˚[btt μyaybn twmwljw

ˆwyx ybjrw ymwr˚dwp ˆwyl[ yjbç

˚dwbkb yçpn jmçt

I recall you for a blessing, O Zion,With all my strength have I loved you,

“Your name is eternally blessed!”Great is your hope, O Zion,

Peace and your longed-for salvation shall come!Generation after generation will dwell in you,

Generations of the steadfast shall be your splendour:Who yearn for the day of your salvation,

And will rejoice in your great glory.They shall suckle from your glorious breast,

And stray through your splendid squares.You shall recall the steadfastness of your prophetsAnd be glorified by the deeds of your loyal ones.

Violence is purged from your midst!Falsehood and evil cut off from you!

Your sons rejoice within you,Your beloved ones accompany you.How have they hoped for your salvation,And your pure ones mourned for you!Your hope won’t be lost, O ZionNor your expectations be forgotten!

Whom has righteousness ever destroyed,Or escaped in iniquity?

Man is tested according to his ways,And each repaid according to his deeds.

All about your enemies are cut off, O Zion,Your foes have all been scattered.

Your praise is sweet, O Zion,Over the entire world.

Many a time shall I recall you for a blessing,And bless you with all my heart.

You shall attain eternal justice,And receive the blessings of the great.

Consider the vision spoken of you,And seek out the dreams of the prophets.

Be built-up and spread, O Zion,Praise the Most High, you redeemer,Let my soul rejoice in your glory.

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10 For a useful summary of the attestations, see Y. Avishur, Stylistic Studies ofWord-Pairs in Biblical and Ancient Semitic Literatures (Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker,1984), 598–99.

11 Numerous examples of rkz in the Qal with this meaning were noted by N. Beringrunn,Studies in the Hebrew Language (Jerusalem: Academy of the Hebrew Language,1995), 197–204, first published in Leshonenu 21 (1957) 279–82, and Leshonenu 22(1958), 80 (Hebrew). See also J. Blau, Leshonenu 23 (1959), 188–89 (Hebrew).

12 For a discussion of the liturgical uses of rkz see E. Glickler Chazon, “ALiturgical Document from Qumran and its Implications: ‘Words of the Luminaries’(4QDibHam)” (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,December 1991), 19–22 (Hebrew).

13 E. Tov, “Tefillin of Different Origin from Qumran?” A Light for Jacob, Studies inthe Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls in Memory of Jacob Shalom Licht (eds. Y. Hoffmanand F.H. Polak; Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1997),44*–54*, and literature cited p. 47* n. 10.

14 M. Weinfeld, “‘They Should Bring All of Their Mind, All of Their Strength and

Commentary

For the sake of simplicity, the following comments are listed by acros-tic letter rather than by line number.

a] ˆwyx hkrbl ˚rwkza—Sanders’ second edition already corrects thereading of his editio princeps, wherein he read hkrbl ˚rykza. Readingthis form as the Qal here is preferable, particularly in light of the par-allel usages of the Qal in other texts (see next paragraph). The rootr´´kz appears in biblical Hebrew alongside hkrb in Proverbs 10:7:bqry μy[çr μçw hkrbl qydx rkz “The name of the righteous is invokedin blessing, but the fame of the wicked rots” (NJPS), wherein the nounrkz appears in an apparently synonymous parallelism with μç. Thesame parallelism is found in Exod 3:15: rd rdl yrkz hzw μl[l ymç hz“This shall be My name forever, This My appellation for all eternity”(NJPS) and in other related Semitic languages.10 The verbal root rkzmay appear in the Qal not only in the meaning of “remember” butalso “recall,” paralleling Aramaic rkd and Arabic .11 By recallingthe name for a blessing, and recounting former glories, the authorhopes to ascribe these glories once again to Zion.12

b] ˚ytbha yna ydwm lwkb—The text is clearly based upon Deut 6:5,and its reflections in other Deuteronomistic works such as 2Kgs 23:25.The passage from Deuteronomy, referred to simply in the Mishna as[m

Év], already enjoyed a special status in the Second Temple period, as

demonstrated by its presence in the Nash Papyrus and the phylacter-ies from the Judaean desert, including those regarded as sectarian.13

The Qumran sectarian corpus contains several allusions to theDeuteronomy verse. Weinfeld has demonstrated that 1QS 1:12 inter-prets ˚dam in Deut. 6:5 as ˆwhw jwk, “strength and wealth.”14

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All of Their Wealth into the Community of God’ (1QS 1:12),” in B. Uffenheimer (ed.),Bible Studies: Y.M Grinz in Memoriam (ed. B. Uffenheimer; = Teauda 2 (1982), 37–41(Hebrew). Kister has found the same interpretation in what might be citations from alost tannaitic midrash. See M. Kister, “Some Observations on Vocabulary and Style inthe Dead Sea Scrolls,” Diggers at the Well: Proceedings of a Third International Symposiumon the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira (eds. T. Muraoka and J.F.Elwolde; Leiden: Brill, 2000), 157–58.

15 So C. L’Heureux, “The Biblical Sources of the ‘Apostrophe to Zion,”’ CBQ 29(1967) 60–74: 63, in his translation. The stich division in his transcription on p. 60does not match this translation.

16 See the material they cite on 450 n. 12.

b] ˚rkz μymlw[l ˚wrb—This apparently extraneous line, whichbreaks up the simple acrostic, in fact embodies the central theme ofthe poem, serving as a summary of the entire work. The line serves twofunctions: it is both a chiastic reversal of the opening stich hkrbl ˚rwkzaˆwyx and its fulfilment. In the opening line, the poet declares that he willrecall Zion for a blessing; here he declares that the name/recollectionof Zion is blessed. Moreover, since the expression hkrbl . . . rkzalludes to the line from Proverbs noted above, the poet essentiallystates that Jerusalem is righteous, since its recollection is eternally fora blessing. Jerusalem is thus established in the opening lines as theqdxh ry[ “just city” that Isaiah (1:26) proclaims it shall be at itsrestoration. On the theme of divine justice, see below, Structural andThematic Discussion.

g] awbl ˚t[wçy tljwtw μwlçw ˆwyx ˚twqt hlwdg—The parallelism oftljwt and hwqt is biblical: dbat μy[çr twqtw hjmç μyqydx tljwt“The righteous can look forward to joy, but the hope of the wicked is doomed” (Prov 10:28). In our poem, the division of this stich is problematic. Sanders divided it following the word ˆwyx, i.e. awbl ˚t[wçy tljwtw μwlçw // ˆwyx ˚twqt hlwdg “Great is thy hope, OZion; that peace and thy longed-for salvation will come,” a readingthat produces only eight syllables in the first hemistich in contrast tothirteen in the second stich. Accordingly, an alternative division hasbeen suggested: awbl ˚t[wçy tljwtw // μwlçw ˆwyx ˚twqt hlwdg whichproduces two hemistiches of eleven and ten syllables respectively.15

However, the translation is now problematic, since hwqt is femininewhile μwlç is masculine, and hence cannot serve as an adjective mod-ifying it. Eshel and Strugnell have suggested interpreting μwlçw as aphonetic variant of μwlçb, and as they have demonstrated, there is nolinguistic reason for rejecting such a spelling.16 However, their trans-lation, “Great is your hope in/with prosperity,” is uneasy. Another

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17 L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 63.18 Cited by B.K. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew

Syntax (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 610. I am grateful to Ms. TaniaNotarius for this reference.

19 Further examples may be found in M. Azar, The Syntax of Mishnaic Hebrew(Jerusalem: Academy of Hebrew Language, 1995), 78–79 (Hebrew). For the textualevidence relating to this citation, see S. Sharvit, Tractate Avot Through the Ages—ACritical Edition, Prolegomenon and Appendices (Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute/TheBen-Yehuda Research Center for the History of Hebrew/The Hebrew University ofJerusalem, 2004), 174 (Hebrew).

possibility is to read not hl;/dG] but rather hL;WdG], rendering the meaning“Greatness is your hope, O Zion, and peace.” For a similar construc-tion see Prov 11:23: hrb[ μy[çr twqt bwf ˚a μyqydx twat, “What therighteous desire can only be good; What the wicked hope for [stirs]wrath;” Job 11:20: hnylkt μy[çr yny[w çpn jpm μtwqtw μhnm dba swnmw,“The eyes of the wicked pine away; escape is cut off from them; Theyhave only their last breath to look forward to.” It should be empha-sised that in these verses, hwqt and tljwt mean both the act of hop-ing and the result of that hope. These verses, along with Prov 10:28cited above, establish a clear link between righteousness and hope,which is also a central theme in our poem. See below, Structural andThematic Discussion.

awbl ˚t[wçy tljwtw μwlçw—The syntactic status of the infinitive formis uncertain. Sanders translates “that peace and thy longed-for salva-tion will come” while L’Heureux renders “And your expectation ofcoming salvation.”17 I believe that we have here the predicative use of the infinitive, such as is found in Qumran Hebrew. For a similarconstruct see e.g. Jer 51:49 lpnl lbbAμg “Yes, Babylon is to fall;”Prov 19:8, bwf axml hnwbt rmç “He preserves understanding andattains happiness;”18 and Mishnaic Hebrew: twml μydwlyh >rmwa hyh awharwbh awhw rxwyh awhç [dwwyhlw [ydwhlw [dylw ˆwdyl μyyjhw twyjl μytmh “He used to say: the born are to die, the dead are to live, the livingto be judged, to know and to be informed and to be made known thatHe is the creator” (m. Abot 4:22).19 The use of synonyms in constructrather than as parallels is often attested in biblical poetry, andbecomes more common still in the Second Temple period. Indeed, thesectarian literature from Qumran frequently employs this device forliterary effect. Licht identified the “piling up” (bwbyg) of synonymousepithets as one of the characteristics of the Hodayot, an assessmentthat is equally applicable to the rhetorical style of the Rule of the

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20 J. Licht, The Rule Scroll (Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute, 1965), 32 (Hebrew).21 A. Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (Bloomington: Indiana University

Press, 1992), 69–71.22 As correctly identified by L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 65, contra Sanders.

L’Heureux’s explanation of the use of the biblical language here differs from mine.23 See A. Kropat, Die Syntax des Autors der Chronik verglichen mit seiner Quellen

(Gießen: Alfred Töpelmann), 35.24 Or “in her.” The poet appears to have taken the preposition b- in the biblical

verse to refer to the rejoicing that is to take place within Jerusalem following itsrestoration, and accordingly paraphrased ˚brqb, “in your midst.”

Community.20 Subsequent publications have provided many furtherexamples.

d] ˚b wrwdy rwdw rwd—The verbal use of the root r´´wd is found onlyonce in biblical Hebrew in the meaning of “dwell” (Ps 84:11), and ishere employed for poetic effect.

˚trapt μydysj twrwd—The use of an identical word here in two par-allel stiches is not surprising given the widespread nature of this phe-nomenon in biblical poetry.21

h] ˚[çy μwyl μywatmh—This expression appears to be based uponAmos 5:18: rwa alw ˚çj awh ´h μwy μkl hz hml ´h μwy ta μywatmh “Ah,you who wish for the day of the Lord! Why should you want the dayof the Lord? It shall be darkness, not light!.”22 The prepositionallamed is employed to indicate the object instead of ta, a characteris-tic feature of Second Temple Period Hebrew.23 However, whereas thecontext of the biblical verse is a prophecy of wrath, here the expres-sion is employed positively as a mark of praise for those whopatiently await Jerusalem’s redemption. This method of providing aclassical prophetic expression with a positive interpretation thatreverses its original negative intent is already found in the secondIsaiah, and becomes more widespread in the poetic corpus attested inQumran. This phenomenon is discussed briefly below, Structural andThematic Discussion.

w] ˚dwbk bwrb wçyçyw—The author alludes in this and the next stichto Isaiah 66:10–11, a locus classicus for rejoicing over the rebuilding ofJerusalem: μylbatmh lk çwçm hta wçyç hybha lk hb wlygw μylçwry ta wjmçhdwbk zyzm μtgn[thw wxmt [ml hymwjnt dçm μt[bçw wqnyt ˆ[ml >hyl[ “Rejoicewith Jerusalem and be glad for24 her, all you who love her! Join inher jubilation, all who have mourned over her—That you may suckfrom her breast consolation to the full, that you may draw from herbosom glory to your delight.” This biblical source provides much ofthe language found through this poem: jmç, lyg, bha, çyç, lbatm, anddwbk zyz. The expressions are integrated into the newly formed work.

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25 See R. Kasher, “Metaphor and Allegory in the Aramaic Translations of theBible,” JAS 1 (1999), 53–77. As Kasher notes, the subject requires further scholarlyattention.

26 L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 66.27 J. Levy, Chaldäisches Wörterbuch über die Targumim, Zweiter Band (Leipzig:

Baumgärtners Buchhandlung, 1868), 405 s.v. zygr, afel.28 For Saaadiah, see Y. Ratzaby, Saadya’s Translation and Commentary on Isaiah

(Kiryat Ono: Makhon Moshe, 1994), 9 (Hebrew), and compare Derenbourg’s com-ments cited ad loc. The interpretation as a denominative verb is preferred by Yehudahbin Bal’am; see M. Goshen-Gottstein with Maaaravi Perez, R. Judah ibn Balaam’sCommentary on Isaiah (Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 1992), 38 (Arabic andHebrew), and the opinions of other mediaeval commentators cited in the notes.

29 The online edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (http://www.oed.com/) listsamongst its meanings: ‘To wander up and down free from control, to roam about.Const. about, along, in, through (a place),” and “To wander from the path of rectitude,to err.”

z] wqnyy ˚dwbk zyz—Sanders renders “On (the) abundance of thy glorythat are nourished,” a free translation. In the biblical verse, zyz cer-tainly means “nipple,” as modern lexicographers have noted, appear-ing in parallel with dç. However, the Massoretic vocalization of thelatter word is dcO, which may also be interpreted “violence,” and it isthis interpretation that is found in Targum Jonathan, which translatestzyb. The word zyz itself is interpreted in the Targum as dmjm, whichmay be a euphemistic rendering, or alternatively a decoding of thebible’s metaphorical language.25

z] wsk[y ˚trapt twbwjrbw—I have preferred Sanders’ syntacticanalysis, which sees ˚trapt as an abstract noun in construct with twbwjr, which it effectively modifies, over L’Heureux’s interpretationof it as a concrete noun meaning “finery” which is the object ofwsk[y.26 The single occurrence of the verb sk[ in the Bible, Isaiah3:16: hnsk[t μhy lgrbw, is negative. The precise meaning of the verbis uncertain. Targum Jonathan translates ˆzgrm, which Levy alreadysuggested reflects an interpretation of hnsk[t.27 The mediaeval Jewishinterpreters were divided as to its meaning. Saaadiah Gaon translatedit with the Arabic cognate ˆsk[y, “to lead astray,” while most of theJudeo-Arabic translators regarded it as a denominative form derivedfrom the noun μysk[.28

The appearance of the verb in this poem in a positive contextimplies that it must necessarily be able to support semantically both anegative and a positive meaning, and accordingly I have rendered it“stray.”29 It therefore seems to me that perhaps the root here is parallelto h[t, which may mean “roam” or “err, stray.” The semantic paral-lelism of sk[ and h[t is apparent in a variant reading of the Samaritan

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30 A. Tal, The Samaritan Targum of the Pentateuch, A Critical Edition, Part 1:Genesis, Exodus (Texts and Studies in the Hebrew Language and Related Studies 4;Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1980), 103. The early manuscript J reads y[fmk “as onewho leads astray.” For the meanings of h[t and h[f in biblical and post-biblicalHebrew, see A. Amit, “‘To Err’ in Mishnaic Hebrew: An Examination of MishnaBerakhot 2:4,” Sidra 19 (2004), 117–35 (Hebrew).

31 The stative qal rhf; is unlikely, as this always refers to object of impurity and notthe cause.

32 So already L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 67.33 hwln is employed here in its well-attested sense of “to be joined upon,” “accom-

pany.” L’Heureux’s attempt to find here a meaning “surround as a garland” (based onthe noun hywl “garland,” Prov 1:9, 4:9), is not compelling.

34 For Standard Biblical Hebrew, see P. Joüon and T. Muraoka, A Grammar ofBiblical Hebrew (Rome: The Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1993), Part 3, § 144e. The useof hmk in the scrolls has been noted by A. Hurvitz, “The Language of 11Q Psalm III,”RevQ 5 (1965), 231–32 n. 13.

targum, wherein the Hebrew verb [t[tmk (Gen 27:12) is translatedsk[mk.30

f] ˚wgm smj rhf—Sanders translated “Purge violence from thymidst,” reading rhf as an imperative. However, since Zion is clearlyreferred to as feminine (see the heth stich, yrwkzt ˚yaybn ydsj), thisinterpretation is unlikely. I prefer to see this as a declarative statementexpressing a wish, with the verb rhf as a perfect puaal.31

˚wgm—Sanders has noted a parallel in Isa 51:23, but the form thereis ËwEG E, meaning “your back.” Here the usage is an Aramaism,influenced by Aramaic /G, “midst.”32

˚mm wtrkn lw[w rqç—These epithets are common for wrongdoing inboth biblical and post-biblical literature, but they are found togetheronly here and in 4Q537 1+2+3 2.

y] ˚brqb ˚ynb wlygy—As mentioned above, the verb lyg is drawnfrom Isa 66:10.

wwln ˚yl[ ˚ydydyw—dydy is used figuratively in biblical Hebrew to rep-resent Israel, as already understood by Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 5:1,wherein ydydyl an hryça is rendered lytmd larçyl ˆ[k hyjbça ayybn rmaμhrbad hy[rz amrkb ymjr, “The prophet said: I shall now praise Israel,for the progeny of Abraham my faithful one is liked to a vine’. How-ever, in the biblical verses the use of dydy is often (though not always)accompanied by a statement that criticizes Israel for having broken thebonds of loyalty.33

k] hmk—Instead of the adverbial hm of Standard Biblical Hebrew,we find here hmk, more characteristic of Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic.34

˚t[wçyl wwq—The expression is found also in Gen 49:18 ˚t[wçyl´h wwq. The poem emphasises that Jerusalem’s faithful followers have

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35 The use of jkç as a parallel to dba is thus an invention of this author, asL’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 63, suggests, and accordingly the proposed allusion toIsaiah 49:14–15 becomes less likely.

36 See Waltke and O’Connor, Introduction, 171–72. Starcky, “Psaumes apocryphes,”accepted Sanders’ translation based on the examples of this structure cited in P. Joüon,Grammaire de l’hébreu biblique (Rome: Institut biblique pontifical, 1923), 379 (§126 d).

37 The line is partially preserved in 4Q266 3 iii 22–23, but of the verb in question,wflm, only the lamed has survived. See J.M. Baumgarten, Qumran Cave 4.XIII: TheDamascus Document (4Q266–273) (DJD 18; Oxford: Clarendon Press), 44.

38 Cited according to Z. Ben-Hayyim (ed.), The Book of Ben Sira, Text, Concor-dance and an Analysis of the Vocabulary (Jerusalem: The Academy of the HebrewLanguage and the Shrine of the Book, 1973 [Hebrew]).

retained their loyalty to the city, mourning its fall and longing for itsrestoration.

l] ˚tljwt jkçt awlw ˆwyx ˚twqt dbwt awl—dbwt is a phoneticspelling for dbat. Our text combines the parallelism hwqt / tljwt thatappears above in the gimel stanza with the parallelism dba/ jkç foundin several biblical verses, including Psalms 9:19, ˆwyba jkçy jxnl al ykd[l dbat μyyn[ twqt, “Not always shall the needy be ignored, nor the hopeof the afflicted forever lost;” and Job 8:13: twqtw la yjkwç lk twjra ˆkdbat πnj, “Such is the fate of all who forget God; the hope of theimpious man comes to naught” (both in connection with hwqt).35 Comparefurther my notes to the gimel stanza.

m] qdx dba jz ym—Eshel and Strugnell’s translation, “Whom hasrighteousness made to perish,” which assumes reading qdx as a nounwhich is the subject of the piael verb dB´ai, is convincing. This inter-pretation also suits the overall theme of this work, namely divine justice. It is easier than Sanders’ “Who has ever perished (in) righteous-ness,” which assumes that qdx is a predicative accusative of state (indefective orthography!) for the verb dba.36 L’Heureux infelicitouslysuggests that Sanders’ translation is supported by Job 4:7: dba yqn awh ym“what innocent man ever perished?” However, unlike the predicativeaccusative proposed for our text, in Job yqn is the subject, while verbdba represents an asyndetic relative clause.

wlw[b flm hz ym wa—The use of flm in the Qal meaning “escaped,”is post-biblical. Compare ˆwçarh hdwqph ≈qb wflm hla, “Theseescaped in the first period of visitation” (CD vii 21).37 It is also found inBen Sira in a similar context, i.e. divine justice: çya wtjkwt ˆk wymjr brkμlw[l qydx twat tybçy alw lw[ lzgb flmy [al] (la) fpçy wyl[pmk (BenSira 16:12–13), “His punishment is as great as his mercy, each manis judged according to his deeds: the wrongdoer will not escape withhis loot, nor will He prevent the desire of the righteous man.”38

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39 DJD 16.100. The identical sentence appears on p. 88. It seems unlikely that theform hnz survived in spoken Aramaic in the Hasmonean period (the evidence seems topoint to the fact that /den/ was the spoken form). See M. Morgenstern, “The Historyof the Aramaic Dialects in the Light of Discoveries from the Judaean Desert: The Caseof Nabataean,” ErIsr 24 (1999), 134–42; and A. Tal, “Studies in Palestinian Aramaic:The Demonstrative Pronouns,” Leshonenu 44 (1980) 43–65, esp. 45–49 (Hebrew).

40 I am assuming that these are the texts to which Starcky was referring when hewrote, “J. Strugnell veut bien me dire que son ms. 9, qui est hébreu, a la forme zn (ouzk) en parallèle avec zh (il ne peut donc s’agir que du pronom)” (“Psaumes apoc-ryphes,” 360).

41 J. Joosten, “Linguistic Innovations in the Hebrew of the Hellenistic Period:Qumran and the Septuagint,” Meghillot—Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls II (eds. M. Bar-Asher and D. Dimant; Jerusalem: The Bialik Institute, 2004), 152–54 (Hebrew).

42 The similarity to Jeremiah was already noted by L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,”70, who nevertheless rejected any direct influence.

43 Z. Ben Hayyim, Studies in the Traditions of the Hebrew Language (Madrid-Barcelona:Instituto “Arias Montano,” 1954), 79–82. E. Qimron, The Hebrew of the Dead SeaScrolls (Harvard Semitic Studies 29; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986), 59.

44 The evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls may be found in Qimron, HDSS, p. 59.

4QPsf is damaged at this point, and preserves only the second halfof the mem stich: ]flm hnz awh[. The DJD edition of this manuscriptsuggests that hnz is an Aramaism, and that “4QPsf, which is earlierthan 11QPsa with respect to both its script and stage of textual trans-mission, was strongly influenced by the spoken Aramaic of its author,while 11QPsa reflects a more literary Hebrew.”39 As Starcky noted,penetration of the Aramaic hnz into Hebrew is paralleled by the formˆd, attested in 4Q371 1 8 where 4Q372 1 10 reads hz.40 Joosten hasrecently demonstrated that the interpretation of ˆz as a demonstrativepronoun is reflected in the Septuagint translation of Ps 144:13.41

n] μltçy wyç[mk çya wkrdk μda ˆjbn—This line combines Jer 17:10,wyll[m yrpk wkrdk çyal ttlw twylk ˆjb bl rqj ´h yna, “I the Lord probe the heart, Search the mind—To repay every man according tohis ways, With the proper fruit of his deeds” (NJPS), and Ps 62:13:whç[mk çyal μlçt hta yk dsj ynda ˚lw, “and faithfulness is Yours, OLord, to reward each man according to his deeds”.42 Note that theform wkrdk in the biblical verse has the kethib of a singular noun butis vocalized like a plural. In the Hebrew of Qumran, the two formsare indistinguishable.43 Likewise, the form wyç[mk is not unequivocal,and may be read as a singular noun, similar to wya;r]m

Éin Job 41:1, “His

appearance,” and wynçm in 4Q405 11 3 “his deputy.”44 The word çyawas originally read çwna, which is also the reading of 4QPsf. μltçy ispost biblical, replacing the biblical puaal found in verses such as Jer 18:20: h[r hbwf tjt μL]vy ]]h

É, “Should good be repaid with evil;”

and Proverbs 11:31: afwjw [çr yk πa μLÉvuy] ≈rab qydx ˆh, “If the

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45 See Qimron, HDSS, 48–49. The evidence from mishnaic Hebrew has been gath-ered and analysed by M. Bar-Asher, “The Conjugations of Tannaitic Hebrew (A Mor-phological Study),” Language Studies V–VI: Israel Yeivin Festschrift (Jerusalem:Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1992), 123–51, especially 126–29 (Hebrew).

46 Compare J. Kugel, The Idea of Biblical Poetry, Parallelism and Its History (NewHaven: Yale University, 1981), 51.

47 So already Baillet, Qumrân Grotte 4.III (4Q482–4Q520) (DJD 7; Oxford:Clarendon, 1982) 217 on 4Q510.

48 So in DJD 16.49 In his 1967 edition. This translation was similarly adopted by Schiffman. Eshel

and Strugnell translate “beyond,” but their interpretation of this line differs greatlyfrom my own.

righteous on earth get their deserts, how much more the wicked manand the sinner.” The use of the puaal as the passive decreased through-out the Second Temple period, and in Mishnaic Hebrew it is produc-tive only in the participle.45 The parallelism in these two stiches is notsynonymous, but rather the second stich reflects a development andexpansion of the first.46

s] ˚yançm lwk wrzptyw ˆwyx ˚yrx wtrkn bybs—The samek stich reliesheavily on assonance, containing a cluster of sibilants: bybs, ˚yrx, ˆwyx,wrzptyw, ˚yançm. The parallelism μyrx / μyançm is biblical, e.g. μlçayançmlw yrxl μqn μyça, “Vengeance will I wreak on My foes, will Ideal to those who reject me” (Deut 32:41), but the hitpaael of r´´zp ispost-biblical.47 The interchange between wrzptyw of 11QPs and wrzpthof 4QPsf may be a simple graphic interchange, or may reflect thedeliberate replacement of the waw-preterite form with a simple perfect.

[] lbt lkl hl[m ˆwyx ˚tjbçt πab hbr[—4QPsf reads πab hbr[lbt lk l[m ˆwyx ˚tjwbçt. The alternative reading -l l[m rendersSanders’ translations of -l hl[m as the verbal “ascending”48 or “cher-ished”49 unlikely. The non-biblical -l hl[m is now found in the Songsof the Sabbath Sacrifice 4Q403 1 i 28: ]tw hkrb lwkl hl[m lwk[h,“Blessed be the Lord, the Ki[ng of] all, above all blessings andpr[aise].”

The line in our poem is clearly based upon the hdwhy tjnm ´hl hbr[wμylçwryw, “Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasingto the Lord” (Malachi 3:4). The biblical verse has been reworked tomake it refer to praise rather than sacrifice. The importance of prayerin contrast to sacrifice is found in the Qumran sectarian literature, forexample in the reworked biblical citation from Prov 15:8, μy[çr jbz ˆwxr tjnmk μqdx tlptw hb[wt, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abom-ination, but the prayer of the righteous pleases Him” in the Damascus

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50 This reworking is confirmed by the fragmentary version in 4Q271 5 I 14–15:[ˆwxr] tjnmk μyqydx [ tlptw] hbw[t μy[çr jbz. See Baumgarten, DJD 18.181. As Baum-garten notes (ibid., p. 182), this variant “bring[s] out more sharply the equivalence ofprayer to sacrifice.”

51 So Sanders, Schiffman, Strugnell and Eshel, and others.52 M. Mishor, “Three Lexical Notes,” Leshonenu 48–49 (1983–84), 123 (Hebrew).

The form that appears some 12 times in the Mishnah, ˆylbt (or μylbt), has been theobject of some debate amongst researchers of rabbinic Hebrew. While the Sephardicand Yemenite traditions pronounce this word ˆylIb;T] as though from a singular lb,T,, theAshkenazi tradition reads ˆylIb]T

É, a reading supported by the important Kaufman and

Parma manuscripts. However, as has been pointed out, other nouns are found inHebrew following this plural pattern, such as μymjr, μywlç, μyrç[. The form was orig-inally identified by N. Berggrün, “Lexical Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew,” Leshonenu 17(1951–52) 10–11 [reprinted in idem, Studies in the Hebrew Language (Jerusalem: TheAcademy of the Hebrew Language, 1995, pp. 32–35 (Hebrew)], and discussed in detailby H. Yalon, Introduction to the Vocalization of the Mishna (Jerusalem: BialikInstitute, 1964), 64–65, 199–200 (Hebrew).

53 See G. Khan, “The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew,” ZAH 9(1996), 1–23. In practise, the noun pattern lf´q´ in biblical Hebrew is only reallyattested in the lexeme lb´T´. I. Avinery, Heical Hamishqalim—A Thesaurus of theHebrew Radical Nouns (Tel Aviv: Izrehel Publishing House, 1976), 408 (Hebrew), lists

Covenant (CD 11:21),50 and in the Rule of the Community (1QS ix4–5). However, since this is a song of praise, and verbal praise is thedominant theme here, it need not be assumed that the author sawprayer as a necessary substitute for sacrifice. Rather, he draws his lan-guage from biblical sources that speak of sacrifice, and adapts themaccording to his needs. The song came not to bury sacrifice, but topraise Jerusalem.

Most commentators have taken lbt to be the biblical Hebrew lbT,“world.”51 However, in a brief note, M. Mishor has suggested that theword is to be taken as equivalent to the Mishnaic Hebrew lb,T,,“spice,”52 to be translated “Your praise, O Zion, is more pleasing tothe nose than any spice.” Mishor’s suggestion has the benefit that itsuits the biblical idiom “pleasing to the nose,” originally applied to thesmell of the meal sacrifice. I would like to suggest that the authordeliberately exploited an ambiguous word for poetic benefit. On theone hand, Jerusalem’s praises are sweeter than any spice; on the other,its praises are sweeter than the entire world.

Moreover, it is possible that the two words were pronounced iden-tically by the author of this poem. The Tiberian tradition distinguishesbetween the segolate nouns on the pattern lf,q,, which are pronouncedwith penultimate stress and with a frontal, half-open unrounded [e] vowel,and the noun pattern lf´q, which is pronounced with final stress anda half-closed unrounded [e].53 However, in some areas the segolates

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only two nouns in this pattern from biblical Hebrew, lb´T and llyh, the latter appear-ing only in the epithet rjç ˆb llyh (Isa 14:12) which is of unknown derivation. Theadditional example he cites from Rabbinic Hebrew, tb´f´, “Tebeth, the name of amonth,” is, as he mentions, a loanword from Akkadian. It is possible that lbT is sim-ilarly a loanword. See L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, HALOT, s.v. lbT.

54 The Spanish evidence is readily evident from the mediaeval metrical poetry. Morerecently, Geoffrey Kahn has demonstrated that this pronunciation is already found inKaraite manuscripts of the biblical texts written in Arabic characters. The Arabicorthography explicitly records vowel length, and so reveals the stress patterns morethan the Hebrew orthography. See G. Khan, “The Historical Depth of Two Features ofthe ‘Sephardi’ Reading Traditions,” Massorot 9–10–11 (Gideon Goldenberg Festschrift,1997), 91–99, esp. 94–95 (Hebrew).

55 Qimron, HDSS, 36–38.56 A. Hurwitz, “The Date of the Prose-tale of Job Linguistically Reconsidered,”

HTR 67 (1974) 17–34, esp. 20–23.57 The origin of this interpretation would appear to lie with Strugnell . Strugnell

listed the term as part of the “angelic vocabulary” of the Shirot Olot Hashabbat. SeeJ. Strugnell, “The Angelic Liturgy at Qumran—4Q Serek Sîrot aOlat Hassabbàt”Congress Volume [VTSup 7; Leiden: Brill, 1959], 318–45, esp. 333. He was followedby Starcky, “Psaumes apocryphes,” 363–64. This interpretation is tentatively adoptedby Eshel and Strugnell, “Alphabetic Acrostics,” 452.

may have been pronunced with ultimate stress. Evidence for such pro-nunciations is found in the Middle Ages from Spain and Egypt.54

Coupled with the Palestinian (non-Tiberian) five vowel system, such alinguistic tradition may not have distinguished between forms that inthe Tiberian tradition would be lb´T /te’bel/ and lb,T, /’tebel/. Workingagainst this hypothesis would be the evidence that Qimron has gath-ered for the difference in Qumran Hebrew between the penultimatestress of absolute forms and the ultimate stress of forms in the con-struct.55 However, this poem may have been written in a dialect thatwas distinct from that of the Qumran covenanters.

p] twbr μym[p “many times”—This expression appears twice in theBible but it does not appear that our text is alluding to either occurrence.

x] ylbqt μydbkn twkrbw ygyçt μymlw[ qdx—The term μymlw[ qdxappears in Dan 9:24, wherein it refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.For similar use of the verb gçh, see Isa 35:10/51:11: wabw ˆwbçy ´h yywdpwhjnaw ˆwgy wsnw wgyçy hjmçw ˆwçç μçar l[ μlw[ tjmçw hnrb ˆwyx, “And theransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with shouting to Zion,crowned with joy everlasting; they shall attain joy and gladness, whilesorrow and sighing flee.” This use of lbq is characteristic of SecondTemple period Hebrew.56 Sanders’ translation of μydbkn as “the hon-ourable” is preferable to Eshel and Strugnell’s “the glorious ones,”which is paralleled by Skehan, Ulrich and Flint’s “those who appearin glory.”57 dbkn is not necessarily “glorious” in a theological sense. It

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58 See F. Brown, S.A. Driver and C.A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of theOld Testament (Oxford, 1907), 457 s.v. dbk, niph.

59 Eshel and Strugnell, “Alphabetic Acrostics,” 451, read ˚w[btt, but the stroke thatthey read as a waw may be regarded as the left-hand stroke of the aayin. If we accepttheir opinion that the stroke represents an independent letter, it could equally be readas a yod, which would not change the interpretation presented here.

60 Compare Qimron, HDSS, §200.11, e.g. yyçn (=yayçn) in 11QT 57:12.61 This sentence is attributed to an Edomite speaker, and may thus reflect an attempt

to match or imitate the speech of a non-Hebrew idiom. See G. Rendsburg, “LinguisticVariation and the ‘Foreign’ Factor in the Hebrew Bible,” Language and Culture in theNear East (eds. S. Izrehel and R. Drory; Israel Oriental Studies 15; Leiden: Brill,1995), 177–90, esp. 181–82.

62 Compare M. Moreshet, A Lexicon of the New Verbs in Tannaitic Hebrew (RamatGan: Bar Ilan University Press, 1980), 384, s.v. [bt (Hebrew).

63 These definitions are drawn from Moreshet, Lexicon of New Verbs.64 Apud L’Heureux, “Biblical Sources,” 73 n. 17. Polzin based his observation on

Th. Nöldeke, “Bemerkungen zum hebräischen Ben Sìrà,” ZAW 20 (1900), 81–94.

may simply mean, as BDB translates, “honourable, honoured, distin-guished man.”58 This is true not only of biblical Hebrew, but also ofthe Hebrew documents found at Qumran, including many sectarianones, e.g. 1QpHab iv 1–3: rça wrçp wl qjçm μynzrw slqy [μyklmb awhw]br μ[b wslqw w[t[ty μyrçw μyklmb μydbkn l[ wgy[ly, “[He shall] holdkings in derision, and potentates are a joke to him (Hab 1:10): Itssignificatum is that they will scorn leaders and disdain the nobility,they shall mock kings and chiefs, and ridicule the multitude.”

q] ˚[btt μyaybn twmwljw ˚yl[ rbwd ˆwzj yjq—This is the reading of11QPs. 4QPsf apparently reads ˚[btt μyybn tmljw, though the materialreading of the word ˚[btt is somewhat doubtful.59 The form μyybn isa phonetic variant of μyaybn, reflecting elision of the haleph.60

The interpretation of this line depends upon our understanding of theverb [btt, which is problematic. Sanders tentatively suggested a deriva-tion from the root y[b, indicating as a possible parallel the linguis-tically unusual Isa 21:12: Wyt;a Wbv Wy[;B] ˆWy[;b]TI μai hl;y]l; μg;w] rq,bo ht;a; rmvo,“The watchman replied, “Morning came, and so did night. If youwould inquire, inquire. Come back again”.61 As an alternative, he hes-itatingly proposed the post-biblical root [´´bt.62 In my opinion,Sanders’ second suggestion is certainly preferable, especially when weconsider the meanings of this root in Tannaitic Hebrew: “demand, stronglyrequest (the fulfillment of a obligation or money that he deserves)” or“sue.”63 Polzin’s convincing proposal to read ˚[btt as a 2nd fem.imperfect of [bt with a reflexive suffix provides us with the meaning“demand for yourself.”64

This understanding of ˚[btt is well suited to the context, andnicely parallels the verbs ygyçt, ylbqt and yjq, all verbs of attaining

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65 The parallel was first noted by Flusser, “Jerusalem in the Literature of the SecondTemple,” 281 n. 39. See further idem, “Psalms, Hymns and Prayers,” Jewish Writingsof the Second Temple Period (ed. M. Stone; CRINT 2/2;Assen: Van Gorcum, 1984),557.

66 Dr. A. Walfish, personal communication.67 This meaning of the biblical expression was discussed by S.E. Loewenstamm,

“Grenzgebiete ugaritischer Sprach- und Stilvergleichung; Hebräisch des ZweitenTempels, Mittelhebräisch, Griechisch,” UF 3 (1971), 94. Loewenstamm published asimilar article entitled “In Which Texts May We Look for Parallels to UgariticLiterature?” Hanoch Yalon Memorial Volume (eds. E. Kutscher, S. Lieberman andM.Z. Kaddari; Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer, 1974), 212–20; see especially 217–18, andcompare the “Editor’s Notes” by Lieberman, Hanoch Yalon Memorial Volume, 556(Hebrew). Commenting particularly on the expression wnyhwla tyb ta μmwrl “to raise upthe House of our God” (Ezr 9:9), Lieberman observed that temples were generally builtin high places, and were themselves high structures. See further S. Lieberman, ToseftaKi-fshutah, A Comprehensive Commentary on the Tosefta. Part V: Order Moaed (NewYork: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1962), 1201 (Hebrew). Lieberman’scomments were briefly incorporated into the English version of Loewenstamm’sGerman article; see S.E. Loewenstamm, “Border-cases of Ugaritic and Comparative

or receiving. yjq here has been translated in various ways. Sanders’“Accept the vision” has been followed by Eshel and Strugnell, whileSchiffman has loosely translated: “May you merit the fulfillment ofthe vision.” However, I believe that the idiom here may be moreforceful, and be closer to the proactive “take” than the acquiescent“accept.” ˆwzj and twmwlj here represent future rebuilding of Jerusalemthat is promised in the visions of the prophets. The poet appears to beurging Jerusalem to actively demand its promised reward. Use of thelegal idiom [bt emphasises the just nature of Jerusalem’s claim to restora-tion, in keeping with the central theme of this poem.

The language of this stich is reminiscent of Ben Sira 36:20–21: twd[ ˆtwnymay ˚yaybnw ˚ywq tl[p ta ˆt ˚mçb rbd ˆwzj μqhw ˚yç[m çarml, “Bearwitness to your first creation, and fulfil the prophecy spoken in yourname; give the dues of those who await you, and let your prophets befound trustworthy.”65 Dr A. Walfish has drawn my attention to the factthat in the earlier part of the poem (the heth stanza), the prophets“represent models of righteousness” (perhaps alluding to the critiqueof non-righteous behaviour), while here they “represent a source ofconfidence that Zion will be redeemed.”66

r] ˆwyx ybjrw ymwr—Sanders noted the parallel with Prov 11:11, trq μwrt μyrçy tkrbb, “A city is built up by the blessing of theupright.” However, in translating “be exalted,” Sanders missed theword-play here, in that μ´´wr is also employed in parallel with y´´nbwith the sense of “be built up high,” and is particularly used in con-nection with temples and other holy buildings.67 The poet thus

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Studies: Hebrew of the Second Temple, Talmudic Hebrew, Greek,” in idem,Comparative Studies in Biblical and Ancient Oriental Literatures (Kevelaer: Butzon &Bercker, 1980), 405–418, esp. 407, wherein Loewenstamm referred to an additionalbiblical verse, Ps 78:69, wçdqm μymr wmk ˆbyw, which NJPS translates “and he built HisSanctuary like the heavens” (reflecting the parallelism ≈ra/μymr). See also Y. Avishur,“μwr (μmr)—hnb in Ugaritic and the Bible,” Leshonenu 45 (1981), 270- 79 (Hebrew).

68 On the expansion of Jerusalem upon its restoration, compare Sifre Deuteronomy 1(ed. Finkelstein, p. 7) and references in Finkelstein edition ad. loc.

describes the city’s glory following its reconstruction. As befits a greatholy city, it will be built up high and spread wide.68

ç] ˚dwp ˆwyl[ yjbç—Based, as Sanders noted, upon Ps 147:12, ´h ta μylçwry jbç, “O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord.” The version empha-sises God’s role as the redeemer of Zion, and employs the root foundin Isa 1:27: hdpt fpçmb ˆwyx, “Zion shall be saved though justice.” Forthe significance of this verse, see below, Structural and ThematicDiscussion.

t] ˚dbxb yçpn jmçt—This perhaps recalls the verse from Deutero-nomy (6:5) alluded to in the beth line, lkbw ˚bbl lkb ˚yhla ´h ta tbhaw˚dam lkbw ˚çpn, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all yourheart and all your soul and all your might.”

Structural and Thematic Discussion

The acrostic provides a superficial unifying structure for the poem,while other poetic devices carry the main themes throughout the work.Since the entire poem is addressed directly to Zion, it comprises alarge number of examples of the second feminine singular pronoun.These are suffixed to the numerous epithet employed throughout the work,epithets of Zion’s glory ˚rkz, ˚twqt, ˚t[wçy, ˚[çy, ˚dwbk, ˚trapt,those of Jerusalem’s dwellers, i.e., ˚yaybn, ˚ydysj, ˚ynb, ˚ydydyw, ˚ymt, orthose of Jerusalem’s enemies: ˚yrx, ˚yançm. Further epithets appearwithout the pronominal suffix.

The aleph to sade lines also subdivide into units that form a chias-tic structure:

a. The aleph and beth lines contain the roots rkz and ˚rb, and theseare reflected again in the pe and sade lines.

b. The parallelism of hwqt and tljwt is found in both the gimel andlamed lines.

c. The righteous epithets for Jerusalem and its dwellers appear inthe dalet to zayin lines, and then again in the yod and kaph lines.

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69 See BDB, 842 s.v. hqdx.

d. Descriptions of the destruction of Zion’s enemies are found inthe tet and samek lines. Both lines contain epithets for the ene-mies, and employ the verb wtrkn.

The qoph to sin lines form a coda, all beginning with imperativeforms. The final line, ˚dwbkb yçpn jmçt, perhaps recalls the verse fromDeuteronomy (6:5) alluded to in the beth line, lkb ˚yhla ´h ta tbhaw˚dam lkbw ˚çpn lkbw ˚bbl.

Distinct from these sections, and standing independently at theheart of the poem, are the mem and nun stiches. These do not relatedirectly to Zion, and stand out as being formulated as a rhetoricalquestion and gnomic answer. However, I believe that these lines con-tain the key to understanding the central theme of the poem: divinejustice. The poet emphasizes repeatedly that Zion is a just city. It isthe city of the pious, of the prophets, of the perfect, all righteousfigures who have remained faithful to it. Accordingly, Zion will berewarded for its virtues by being restored and attaining eternal justiceand blessings.

There are many biblical sources that the poet may have consideredwhile not explicitly mentioning them. As noted above, the openingline alludes to the fact that Zion is righteous by recalling it for ablessing, a privilege reserved for the righteous according to Prov 10:7.In the Bible itself, Jerusalem is referred to as qdxh yr[ in Isa 1:26.The end of the poem refers to God as Zion’s redeemer, hdwp, whichmay allude to Isa 1:27 hqdxb hybçw hdpt fpçmb ˆwyx, which wasapparently interpreted as meaning that Zion will be redeemed throughdivine justice. This plays on the semantic range of hqdx as both right-eousness as an abstract and justice as a process.69 The English Bibleversions reflect these different meanings in their respective transla-tions. The King James reads “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,and her converts with righteousness,” implying that the establishmentof judgment and righteousness leads to the redemption, an interpreta-tion supported by the previous verse. By contrast, the NJPS versiontranslates “Zion shall be saved in the judgment; Her repentant ones,in the retribution,” interpreting the terms fpçmb “in/through judge-ment” and hqdxb “in/through righteousness” not as the means untoredemption but rather as the divine judgment itself. Our poet seems toemploy both interpretations simultaneously: Zion is righteous, andtherefore it will deservedly be restored through divine justice (μltçy

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70 As D. Pagis, Change and Tradition in the Secular Poetry: Spain and Italy(Jerusalem: Keter, 1976),. 70–77 (Hebrew) already noted, not every use of biblical lan-guage in a post-biblical Hebrew text may be regarded as an allusion, nor is the orig-inal context (immediate or wider) always significant to an appreciation of the latterwork. Pagis’s judicious words would have been of benefit to several scholars who havedealt with the issue of literary uses of the bible in Qumran literature.

71 This phenomenon has been labeled “reversal” by B. Sommer, A Prophet ReadsScripture, Allusion in Isaiah 40–66 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998),75–78, and notes on 240ff. For its significance in understanding the Qumran corpus,see A. Berlin, “Qumran Laments and the Study of Lament Literature,” LiturgicalPerspectives: Prayer and Poetry in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Proceedings of theFifth International Symposium of the Orion Center, January, 2000 (ed. E.G. Chazon;Leiden: Brill, 2003), 1–17. This approach has now been adopted by E. Chazon, “TheUse of the Bible as a Key to Meaning in Psalms from Qumran,” Emanuel; Studies inHebrew Bible, Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honor of Emanuel Tov (ed. S.M.Paul; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 85–96.

wyç[m çya). The city can thus demand the fulfillment of the visions ofthe prophets (˚[btt μyaybn twmwljw ˚yl[ rbwd ˆwzj yjq).

In order to prove that Zion is worthy of redemption, the poetinvokes a wide range of biblical terms and epithets. In theory, onecould argue that the author is bound by a literary tradition whichdemands widespread use of biblical language, and does not seek to engagethe original biblical context in any form of discourse—exegetical,polemical, or otherwise.70 However, as I have noted throughout thecommentary, at several points in the work it appears that the authorhas shrewdly adopted terms from prophetic rebukes and implicitlyreinterpreted them by employing them in a positive context. This phe-nomenon has been identified in other biblical and post-biblical works,and appears to be a central feature of poetic literature in the SecondTemple period.71

Accordingly, the epithet μywatmh is no longer employed as an ironicterm for those eagerly awaiting God’s day even though it will be totheir detriment, but instead is a genuine term expressing the longingfor Zion’s redemption. The sk[, employed negatively in the bible todescribe the presumptuous behaviour of Zion’s daughters for whichthey will be punished, is now employed to describe the ambulation ofthe faithful following Zion’s restoration.

Conclusion

The author of the Apostrophe to Zion employs a variety of literarydevices and strategies to present a coherent and integrated poetic

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account of Jerusalem’s restoration. The acrostic serves as a general frame-work, within which the word-repetitions and thematic divisions,accompanied by occasional examples of syntactic parallelism (e.g. theuse of imperatives), serve to subdivide the text into logical units whilemaintaining the overall integral structure. The work confidentlyexpresses the hope that Zion be rebuilt as if it has already beenaccomplished. In order to support his plea that Zion be redeemed, theauthor appeals to divine justice, and attempts to demonstrate that Zionmerits redemption since it a just city whose supporters have remainedfaithful to it despite numerous tribulations. To strengthen his claim,the author inverts negative prophecies by relocating their language ina positive literary framework.

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The Apostrophe to Zion - A Philological and Structural Analysis

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