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SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN: NEW INSIGHTS TAL ILAN Shelamzion is mentioned twice by name in a Qumran document, 4Q322 (4QCalendrical Doc C a ) and 324b (4QCalendncal Doc C e ): The context strongly suggests that the person bearing this name is the famous Hasmonean queen (reigned 76-67 BCE). This is borne out by the fact that 4QCalendrical Doc C also mentions, apart from the priestly courses who served in the Temple, Hyrcanus (probably Hyrcanus II, Shelamzion's son) and Aemilius (probably Aemilius Scaurus, Pompey's general, who played an important role in the Roman subjugation of Palestine in 63 BCE). Unfortunately, the fragmentary nature of the document does not allow us any clear understanding of how these historical figures relate to one another or to the priestly courses, which are the real topic of the document. Thus, despite Michael Wise's courageous attempt to resolve the difficulties inherent in 4QCalendrical Doc C, 1 nothing much can be said about it, except that it confirms that the sect was indeed interested in the 1 M. O. Wise, Thunder in Gemini and Other Essays on the History, Language and Literature of Second Temple Palestine, JSPSup 15 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 186-221.
58 TAL ILAN Hasmonean rulers and had something to say about them. 2 It further confirms, beyond a doubt, Clermont-Gannau's hypothesis about the Hebrew spelling of Queen Alexandra's Hebrew name, 3 but this is not the subject of this paper. Taking 4QCalendrical Doc C as a cue, I would like to explore the possibility that Queen Shelamzion is also alluded to in other Qumran documents, specifically in two (or perhaps three) pesharim. Furthermore, these allusions may shed light on some of the exegetical techniques employed by the Dead Sea sect and on their overall relationship with the regime of the queen, and they may perhaps illuminate some interesting aspects of intertextuality. The most acclaimed 'historical' document in the Qumran corpus is Pesher Nahum (4Q169). It has attained this privileged position because it actually mentions two Greek rulers by name and because it describes events that seem familiar to us from Josephus' description of the Hasmonean kingdom. 4 It is important, however, to note that despite this seemingly historian-friendly document, the only reason we understand what it is talking about is because we have the information mentioned in Josephus. Without Josephus' consciously historical narrative, Pesher Nahum would be just as meaningless to us as the other pesharim. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that my use of this pesher for the reign of Shelamzion will also be highly dependent on Josephus' writings. Pesher Nahum code-names King Yannai, the Lion of Wrath (TED . After describing his wicked rule in column 1 (based on Nahum 2), in column 2 the exegesis turns to Nahum 3 and uses it to describe the 'government of the Seekers of Smooth Things' ( ; 4Q169 3-4 ii 4). Column 1 already made clear to us that the Seekers of Smooth Things had been persecuted and executed in the time of the Lion of Wrath (4Q169 3-4 i 6-7). It makes sense, therefore, to assume that if the text now talks of the 'government of the Seekers of Smooth Things,' a change of administration has taken place. Once again, from Josephus (War 1.107; Ant. 13.407) we learn that this is indeed so: after King Yannai had persecuted the 2 See now M. Broshi, "Ptolas and the Archelaus Massacre (4Q468g = 4QHistorical Text B)," JJS 49 (1998): 341-45. 3 See my "The Greek Names of the Hasmoneans," JQR 78 (1987-88): 7 n. 28. 4 See particularly D. Flusser, "Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes in Pesher Nahum," in Essays in Jewish History and Philology in Memory of Gedaliahu Alon, ed. M. Dorman, S. Safrai, and M. Stern (Tel Aviv: ha-Kibbutz ha-Meuhad, 1970), 133-68.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: FROM THE H
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: FROM THE H
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CONTENTS Preface vii Abbreviations
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PREFACE After the first three Orion
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ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ANRW
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HISTORY OF THE JEWS AND JUDAISM
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JUDEAN NATIONALISM IN THE LIGHT OF
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JUDEAN NATIONALISM 5 The absence of
Page 18 and 19: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 7 was not a vagu
Page 20 and 21: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 9 'tribal' natur
Page 22 and 23: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 1 1 rnon culture
Page 24 and 25: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 13 Anderson emph
Page 26 and 27: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 15 Jews of antiq
Page 28 and 29: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 17 we find refer
Page 30 and 31: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 19 The evidence
Page 32 and 33: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 21 cannot learn
Page 34 and 35: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 23 the removal o
Page 36 and 37: 12 Community Rule 13 Leviticus 14 E
Page 38 and 39: JUDEAN NATIONALISM 27 dence from ot
Page 40 and 41: THE KITTIM IN THE WAR SCROLL AND IN
Page 42 and 43: KITTIM IN THE WAR SCROLL AND IN THE
Page 56 and 57: ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES IN JERUSALEM
Page 58 and 59: ANTIOGHUS IV EPIPHANES IN JERUSALEM
Page 70 and 71: SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN 59 Pharisees,
Page 72 and 73: SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN 61 also alludi
Page 74 and 75: SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN 63 ["If you wi
Page 76 and 77: SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN 65 the same va
Page 78 and 79: SHELAMZION IN QUMRAN 67 pesher was
Page 80 and 81: DESCRIPTIONS OF THE JERUSALEM TEMPL
Page 94 and 95: COMMUNITY AND COVENANT
Page 96 and 97: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT IN QUMR
Page 98 and 99: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 87 nuit
Page 100 and 101: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 89 refo
Page 102 and 103: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 91 the
Page 104 and 105: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 93 cove
Page 106 and 107: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 95 ment
Page 108 and 109: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 97 puni
Page 110 and 111: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 99 "who
Page 112 and 113: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 101 nam
Page 114 and 115: THE CONCEPT OF THE COVENANT 103 it"
Page 116 and 117: "[T]HE[Y] DID NOT READ IN THE SEALE
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"[T]HE[Y] DID NOT READ IN THE SEALE
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COMMUNAL FASTS IN THE JUDEAN DESERT
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COMMUNAL FASTS 129 The word (also t
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COMMUNAL FASTS 131 the time of Hero
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COMMUNAL FASTS 133 It is clear that
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COMMUNAL FASTS 135 snares of Belial
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COMMUNAL FASTS 137 Priest persecute
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COMMUNAL FASTS 139 law-breakers in
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COMMUNAL FASTS 141 It may also be r
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COMMUNAL FASTS 143 These excerpts s
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COMMUNAL FASTS 145 to suggest other
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THE COMMUNITY OF GOODS AMONG THE FI
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 149 The two Gree
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 151 summary repe
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 153 no buying or
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 155 Although the
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 157 her husband,
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COMMUNITY OF GOODS 159 makes use of
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4:36-37 to each as any might have n
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NATURAL SCIENCES AND THE SCROLLS
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THE GENETIC SIGNATURE OF THE DEAD S
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GENETIC SIGNATURE OF THE DEAD SEA S
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ANALYSIS OF MICROSCOPIC MATERIAL AN
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ANALYSIS OF MICROSCOPIC MATERIAL 17
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ANALYSIS OF MICROSCOPIC MATERIAL 17
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HOW NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS CAN
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NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS 181 Met
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NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS 183 tai
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NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS 185 tai
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INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS Abegg, M. G
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Lauterbach, J. Z. 114 n. 30 Lehnard
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Genesis 9:4 10:4 Exodus 14:13 19:8
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8:13-14 9-10 1 Chronicles 3:3 12:39
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Pseudo-Philo, LAB 8-9 Testament of
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CD (Damascus Document) 1:7 1:10-13
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. Baba Batra 21a b. B Mesi'a 104a b
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Aristotle, Me. Eth. 19.8.1168b Cice
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STUDIES ON THE TEXTS OF THE DESERT
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37. Goodblatt, D., A. Pinnick & D.R
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