La defensa a ultranza de un dogma Carlos Bermúdez

the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

( w 10-20 : law of siege & herem) /Nu 10

to turn back all | the fainthearted, and to hold 6ai fast together, all mighty men of valour.

Nu 10.1 ,9

And Yahweh spoke unto Moses, saying,

And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets ( )» and ye shall be remembered'before Yahweh your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

1 6 3

(1 QM 1 0)

And as to that which Thou 6b hast spoken by the hand of

Moses, saying: |

If there cometh a war

in your land against the enemy 7 1 that oppresseth you, then ye

shall blow an alarm with the | trumpets ( A f 7 9 * ) , and ye shall be remembered before

your God, and ye shall be Sa saved from your enemies.

There is much to be said for the suggestion of Osten-Sacken (5 6 0) that 1 QM 10.1-8a may be regarded as a proto-cell of the Qumran war ordinances (i.e. 7 . 9 - 9*9» l4.2ff; and 15-19). The passage is much more than simply a collection of Old Testament texts. More

especially here we have an indication of the taking up of the ancient holy war tradition: specifically, the speech-form of the Deuteronomic war code, and the essential motifs of the ancient pre-battle address. It is immediately apparent that the language of the priest's address of encouragement (1 10.2b-4) corresponds almost exactly with the wording of Dt 20.2-4 (an obvious omission from the Scroll text is the | Tetragrammaton of Dt 20.4 — - cf supra, note (517)) . Fundamental 1 elements from the holy war tradition are therefore readily apparent ; ' the injunction not to be afraid, and the concept that God goes with ] His people and fights for them. More importantly, since the Deuteron- ] omic passage crystallises and gives legalistic form to essential

features of the ancient war speech, the War Scroll preserves here an j impressive link (through the Deuteronomic war code) with the practice

of holy war in ancient Israel. ,1

'-i Following Deuteronomy, the Scroll refers simply to "the priest" as /{ spokeman. This contrasts with the clear distinction made elsewhere

1

and the priest appointed for the day of battle. It is noteworthy in ■ this connection that the character and content of the address of "the 3 priest" (in Deuteronomy and 1 QM 10) corresponds to the encouragement] address of the priest appointed for battle (cf 1 QM 15.6b~9a). ] The strict adherence to the Deuteronomic speech-pattern is also j evident in the Scroll's retention of the officers' address (l0.5~6a); although it is at this point that the divergence from Deuteronomy is jî most apparent — indeed the omission of the main substance of the ]]

Deuteronomic passage (Dt 20.5-9 î the law of exemption and the

appointment of unit commanders) leaves the officers with little to say or do ; even the oblique and partial reference to the dismissal of the fainthearted lacks the formality of the Deuteronomic regulation Presumably it is to make up for this omission that the Scroll adapts for the officers an abbreviated encouragement speech, for which there is no precedent in Dt 20,5-9 (or in the ancient war tradition), and to which there is no other reference in the Scroll, (By reason of

their strategic position (l QM 7*13,15) we may infer that the officers have a practical battle-role, but their functions in this respect are not defined — - cf Yadin, Qomm. ad loc; vide supra p l6ltop ).

It is clear, therefore, that the Scroll's consistent presentation of the chief priest and the priest appointed for battle as the exclusive war-spokesmen makes all the more remarkable the concern to reproduce the outline of the Deuteronomic speech-pattern — - especially with reference to an officers* speech.

The dismissal of men who fall within three categories of social exemption (vide supra, especially pp 42-45) is an integral feature of the Deuteronomic war code. Yadin discusses at length the omission 1 from the Scroll of these categories and assumes that the dismissal of; the men concerned would in fact have taken place at an earlier stage : of the preparation for war and at a location farther removed from the battle area (5 6 1), There is however no evidence in the Scroll to 3 support these suggestions; nor would Yadin*s assumption adequately explain the omission of such essential regulations from a passage expressely based on the Deuteronomic war code. Furthermore, where the Scroll does indicate categories of disqualification from war

(on the grounds of ritual purity), 1 QM 7.3b-4a,4b-5,6 (vide supra J ppl42ff), there is no mention of the exemption regulations of Dt 20. ; 5-7 . It might therefore be more reasonable to assume that these

exemptions (especially as presented in Deuteronomy) had no practical relevance for the Qumran warriors. Moreover, in their omission from the War Scroll we may discern a reflection of the essential character of the Qumran Community: in a community whose members held all things in common, the property rights of individuals in respect of houses or vineyards would be of no practical concern; similarly, for a celibate community, the question of marital rights would not arise. These particulars, therefore, may have been deliberately omitted by the compiler of the War Scroll.

As mentioned above, the Scroll makes only a brief allusion to the dismissal of the fainthearted (l0.5b-6a) , omitting not only the

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With the Scroll reference we laay compare the dismissal of the | fainthearted from Gideon's militia (Ju 7.3). In some measure,

therefore, the dismissal of the fainthearted in the Scroll indicates | the ancient practice which undoubtedly underlies both Judges 7-3 and | Deuteronomy 2 0 . 8 (vide supra, pp 44-45).

J

is further seen in the quotation of Numbers 10.9 inserted after | the reference to the officers' address (1 QM 10.6b-8a). It is not

expressly stated that these words are to be spoken by the officers

as part of their address; however, in a speech of encouragement this | particular quotation (especially the concept of remembrance before î God) would foe entirely appropriate, and in the immediate context of battle, might well precede the sounding of tnunpets. Such a sequence of events is in fact indicated elsewhere in the Scroll: thus, after the encouragement address reported in Col 15 , we read in l6.2b-3 that the remembrance trumpets are sounded, and this marks the

beginning of the battle—action. Thus, in 10.6b-8a the inclusion of the quotation of Nu 10.9 is significant as a point of transition from pre-battle speech to actual battle-attack. Again Osten-Sacken sees Nu 10.9 as the ultimate source of the attack rules in the Scroll ( 562 ) , (The quotation also confirms the formative influence of Nu 10.1-10 on the Scroll's elaborate system of trumpets ; vide supra, pp 13 0-1 3 1).

The indications in 1 QM 7.11a and 10.2-5 of the use of war address| are confirmed in the content of speeches attributed to the priest 1

"destined for the appointed time of revenge" (1 5.6b - I6.1) and the 1

chief priest (l6 .1 1b - 1 7,9), j

Since these two priestly spokesmen play the key roles in the hortatory] and liturgical presentation of battle it is relevant at this point to j note different aspects of their functions. In several respects the Î Scroll clearly distinguishes between the two priests. ( 5 6 3 ) 1 Firstly, with reference to their battle-stance, the chief priest^takes up a stationary position in front of the assembled troops and thus -I addresses the entire army (15*4) or a reserve formation (l6.11b) en 3 masse; the priest appointed for battle walks along the lines (7.11; j 15.6b-7a) addressing the men at close quarters in their battle-

stations.

Secondly, the precise function of each priest is also clearly j distinguished, and this is reflected in the content of their

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ceremonial and liturgie. According to 15.^b~5 be reads from the Book Serekh ^itto (a priestly war manual? of Yadin, Comm, ad loc) "the prayer for the appointed time of battle....including all the texts of their thanksgivings**. No text for the prayer is provided at this point in the Scroll, but as we shall see, the prayers and hymns collected together in Cols. 10.8b - 12,15 amply illustrate

the requisite material. The function of the priest appointed for

battle is to "strengthen the hands" (7.11; 15.7) hy means of an (564) encouragement address, the text of which is supplied at 15.8 - 1 6 .1 . . A':. In addition, at a critical stage of the battle, the chief priest

delivers a special address to a formation of reserves. Although the chief priest is said to "strengthen heart and hands" (l6.11b-12), the text which follows (l6 . 1 3 - 17*9) i» not primarily a typical speech ! of encouragement.

¥e may now proceed to examine the content of the speeches. ; In character and content the opening statements of the encouragement

j

J

... J,

including additional elements of the ancient battle speech, and at the same time taking up notable prophetic motifs; indeed one might almost j discern here the tradition-history of holy war in microcosm. 1 Ancient battle speech "constants" are evident in the injunctions: ^ Be ye strong and courageous and be men of valour, 1 fear not, nor be ye dismayed and let not your hearts faint,

do not tremble, neither be ye afraid because of them, j be not turned back nor flee from them. (I5.7b-9a) (566).

J

j

speech of the ancient holy war tradition. |

The remainder of the address is likewise illuminating. Evidence of the‘ prophetic (OAN) tradition is apparent in the moralistic characterise ;j ation of the enemy (l5.9-1#a) (cf supra pp l49f. » and also p 59foot), J and in the significant reference to the enemy*s transitory nature and to the ineffectiveness of the enemy

* s

j

"calling a swoi^ upon all nations" (I6.1) (vide infra p 185 ).

The motif of "the battle of God” (15»12) is a definite link with the {₁ spiritualised war-narratives of the Old Testament and has attained a 1

167 I

unique climax in the battle presentation of 2 Chronicles 20 (vide | infra p 1

86 )

J

Day of Yahweh and of the apocalyptic time of Daniel (vide supra pp 155% 158 ). Finally, the reference to the angelic hosts (15*14) not only ; links up with Yahweh * s heavenly armies in the ancient Israelite war tradition but gives the portrayal of the battle in the Scroll a new and unique cosmic dimension (vide infra pp 172,l87f).

(For the textual references cited above, see note ( 5 6 8 )).

The special address of the chief priest, reported in l6.11b - 1 7.9 , has its setting at a crucial stage of the battle when the Sons of ? Light begin to suffer casualties. The first part of the address

(1 6.1 3b - 17*3; cf 1 7.9) presents an important theological assessment of the battle and in particular, explains the fact of casualties

(cf supra pp 156f). The second part of the address (17.4-9) closely resembles the encouragement address delivered by the priest appointed for battle. The marked resemblance is seen not only in the familiar battle exhortation: "But ye, be ye strong and fear them not" (17.4a; note also the first word in line 9), but also in the presentation of comparable themes and motifs: deprecation of the enemy and disparage­ ment of his support (1 7-^)» explicit references to the controlling power of God in the divinely appointed battle (17.5b,9), and a special emphasis on Michael as the angel through whom God is to assist His elect (l7«6-8a). ( 5 6 8 ).

The deprecation and moralistic denunciation of the enemy in these speeches and elsewhere in the Scroll ( 5 6 9 ) presents the kind of

material which might well comprise the content of pre-battle curse. j It is noteworthy, therefore, that the passage 1 QM 13.1b-2a,4-5 j presents brief but significant references to a priestly rubric for j

cursing Belial and the spirits of his lot. 1

Davies denies the possibility of a battle connection here, and thinks .j in terms of a blessing-and-curse ritual connected with covenant |

s

renewal ( 570 ), Similarly, Yadin construes the passage in terms of

the (Covenant) curse formulae of Deuteronomy 27.14-26 (571 )• A t closer examination of the ritual curse in 1 QM 13 in respect of ai its form, application and content, goes far to disprove the judgment of these writers. Certainly it is clear that whatever meaning and j usage the blessing-and-curse ritual may have elsewhere, it has been ‘ incorporated into the Scroll as an integral part of the battle liturgy ^ and must have been meaningful as such for the compiler; it is possible^ therefore, that here we may have evidence of its original and ancient

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