Angels and Humans Boundaries Synergies

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Angels and Humans: Boundaries and Synergies
Cecilia Wassen
Résumé
Limites et synergies entre les anges et les humains
Selon la tradition biblique, en tant que messagers de Dieu, les anges jouent
un rôle important dans les rapports de celui-ci avec le monde. À l’époque du
Second Temple, l’intérêt pour les anges s’est développé de façon considérable;
les sectaires de Qumrân ont partagé cet intérêt et, comme d’autres auteurs juifs,
ils ont élaboré des spéculations détaillées à propos des habitants de la sphère
céleste. Ce chapitre présente une vue d’ensemble des idées sur les anges dans les
manuscrits de la mer Morte, en s’attardant particulièrement à leurs divers rôles
et aux fonctions qui leur sont assignées. Les spéculations sur les anges inclu-
ent des idées à propos des hiérarchies angéliques dans lesquelles les archanges,
qui sont parfois nommés, apparaissent comme des forces puissantes. Les anges
remplissent diférentes tâches telles que celles de servir comme prêtres dans un
temple céleste et de constituer l’armée céleste. Ils peuvent aussi apporter des
bienfaits aux justes en les protégeant contre les forces du mal et en les guidant
dans le droit chemin. Un phénomène important est celui de l’intersection
des domaines céleste et terrestre: cela apparaît dans plusieurs documents qui
présentent la communion entre les anges et les humains comme une réalité.
Pour ces auteurs, les anges représentent d’une certaine manière l’immanence
du divin, ce qui est en contraste avec la nature transcendante de Dieu.
1. Introduction
he word “angel” evokes images of beautiful, winged heavenly beings in our pop-
ular culture; in the case of cherubs (Mybwrk or MybrUk) they are oten depicted in
the form of baby-like chubby igures. Yet this popular, modern representation of
angels strays far from the ancient understanding of these heavenly beings. When
Joshua encountered the “commander of the army of God,” it was an angel with
-523-
his essay was published in Celebrating the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Canadian Contribution,
edited by Peter W. Flint, Jean Duhaime, and Kyung S. Baek. Early Judaism and Its Literature 30.
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Copyright © 2011 by the Society of Biblical Literature.

his essay was published in Celebrating the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Peter W. Flint, Jean
Duhaime, and Kyung S. Baek. Copyright © 2011 by the Society of Biblical Literature.
524 CECILIA WASSEN
a drawn sword (Josh 5:14). he proper response to the encounter with heavenly
beings was awe and, as Joshua did, falling to the ground in reverence. he Mybwrk,
on the other hand, were watchdog-like guardians rather than anthropomorphic
igures. In line with traditional iconography from the ancient Near East of guard-
ian deities, the Mybwrk in Ezekiel’s visions (Ezek 1:4–28; 10:1–22) were frightening,
powerful creatures that combined human and animal features: hardly the cute
chubby igures of the modern imagination.
In the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, angels have a variety of roles:
they take part in God’s divine council, and they are God’s obedient messen-
gers, communicating the deity’s message to individuals and ofering protection.
Unlike in the popular imagination, they also make up the heavenly army and can
deliver punishments. With a few exceptions, there is not a great deal of interest
in the angelic characters themselves; as God’s agents they simply carry out the
divine will. Nevertheless, in the last book in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Dan-
iel, we do get a description of a human-looking angel (Dan 10:5–6) and we learn
names of principal angels; in this case, Michael and Gabriel (Dan 9:21; 10:13, 21).
Written in the second century b.c.e., the book of Daniel testiies to a heightened
interest in angels at this time in Judaism. Of course, when we come to the time
of the New Testament, angels are very active in the dealings with humanity. hey
are involved in announcing the birth of Jesus; they serve him ater his tempta-
tion by Satan; and they appear at the empty tomb. John of the book of Revelation
recounts a heavenly ascent where he witnesses an innumerable host of angels
praising the Lord (Rev 5:11); in this account angels will also be instrumental in
unleashing the deadly plagues upon humanity at the eschaton (e.g., Rev 8:6–19).
hus, during the last few centuries leading up to the turn of the era, angels take
center stage in Jewish speculations about heavenly realities. At the same time,
they are not alone in the supernatural world; at this time Satan is seen as a power-
ful force who is controlling his evil angels and demons. Speculations about good
and evil angelic powers form part of a cosmic dualism that was widely popular
at the time.
Like many Jewish documents from this time, the Dead Sea Scrolls display
considerable fascination with angels. In this presentation, I survey the key docu-
ments about angels and examine various aspects of angelology in the scrolls; I
address questions about the roles and functions of angels in the scrolls, as well
as the relationship between humans and angels, which seems very close at times.
Since angels appear in many of the scrolls, this survey is far from comprehensive.
he speculations about the heavenly world in the scrolls are oten based
on traditional biblical ideas about angels but at the same time go beyond these
by ofering a new focus on the roles of the angels and an interest in archangels.
In addition, the texts evidence a curiosity about the heavenly scenery. Not only
are angels in the scrolls seen as heavenly beings, presiding at God’s throne; they
were also believed to be present in a real sense in the community. Evil spirits
and demons were equally real and, with their power to harm people physically

ANGELS AND HUMANS 525
and sway them into evil ways, were greatly feared in the Dead Sea communities.
Like their good angelic counterparts, these evil powers are also called “angels”
and “spirits.” heir master, Belial, is referred to as an “Angel of Darkness” and
a “Spirit of Deceit” (1QS 3:18–19, 20–21). Both the good and the evil angels are
called “sons”: the “sons of heaven” (1QS 4:22), on the one hand, and the “sons of
Belial” (4Q286 7 ii.6), on the other; similar vocabulary suggest that, although
they belong in opposite camps, they also share something in their nature.
2. Nature and Appearance
Who are the angels and what do they look like? By deinition, angels are super-
natural entities who capture qualities from both the divine and human spheres.
Like humans they are created by God, but unlike humans they are eternal
(cf. “eternal spirits,” 1QHa 9:11) and they can move between the heavenly and
earthly realms. Detailed descriptions of the appearance of angels in the scrolls
are lacking, except for the Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice (in the following called
the Sabbath Songs), which vividly describe the garments of the priestly angels as
intricately embroidered and shining priestly robes in many colous (4Q405 23
ii.7–9). his suggests that angels are human-like in appearance, although they
also have wings (4Q405 20 ii.21–22.8). Nevertheless, these depictions of angels
are deliberately vague.
hough the dominant picture of angels is that of obedient, spiritual beings,
the myth about the sons of God who took daughters of humans as wives (Gen
6:1–4) was well known at Qumran (e.g., CD 2:17–20; 1 Enoch).1
According to this
myth angels can sin and can possess physical bodies. As in the myth about the
fallen sons of God in Genesis, the angels in the literature from Qumran do not
appear to be sexless—all their extant names are male. As we will explore below,
the two most prominent roles of angels in the scrolls are as priests serving in the
temple and as military forces; in both functions they are identiied as male. It is
noteworthy in this context that the book of Jubilees, a document that was revered
at Qumran, claims that the angels were created circumcised (Jub. 15:27–28), obvi-
ously in the form of males. In short, there are no hints of female angels in the
Qumran library.
3. Chief Angels
In the tradition of Daniel 7 (“a thousand thousands . . . ,” 7:10; cf. Ps 68:17) the
angelic beings are oten seen as an innumerable celestial entourage of God. Nev-
ertheless, a hierarchy and division of the angels are oten presumed in the Qum-
1. his story was very popular in the Second Temple period and is extensively elaborated
in 1 Enoch 1–36 (the Book of the Watchers). Eleven copies of various parts of 1 Enoch have been
found at Qumran.

526 CECILIA WASSEN
ran texts; accordingly, archangels emerge in the scrolls. he famous discourse on
the two spirits in the Community Rule (1QS 3:13–4:26) divides humanity into
two lots ruled by the Prince of Lights and the Angel of Darkness respectively:
In the hand of the Prince of Lights is the dominion of all the Sons of Righteous-
ness; in the ways of light they walk. But in the hand of the Angel of Darkness
is the dominion of the Sons of Deceit; and in the ways of darkness they walk.
(3:20–21)2
In this account one principal good archangel, who is unnamed, guides the
Sons of Light, who comprise the Qumran movement. From the viewpoint of the
Qumran movement, there is thus an ongoing battle over humanity directed by
the two principal angels of light and darkness; but this will end soon with the
destruction of the evil camp.
We encounter diferent traditions in the scrolls concerning the number of
principal angels; according to the War Scroll (1QM), there are four archangels:
Gabriel, Michael (known from Daniel), Sariel, and Raphael (1QM 9:15–16).
Michael is the supreme angel of the four in 1QM (1QM 9:14–16; 17:6–7), where
he is also likely identiied with the Prince of Light (1QM 13:10).3
In the Sabbath
Songs there are instead seven chief angels, each presiding over an angelic priest-
hood.4
Melchizedek (see below) is likely the highest angelic high priest in the
Sabbath Songs and is a igure known in several documents as an important angel
and a heavenly prince.5
Some Qumran documents, for example, the Community Rule, focus par-
ticularly on one principal angelic leader. In the Community Rule this principal
angel, as we saw above, is engaged in a battle against his wicked counterpart.
he same dualistic worldview and interest in the chief angel are evident in the
sectarian document 11QMelchizedek (11Q13), in which Melchizedek is presented
as a heavenly ruler over the “lot of light.” He thereby takes on a similar role as
the Prince of Lights in the Community Rule. he traditions of Melchizedek are
inspired by the legend that mentions the priest-king of Salem of this name in Gen
2. Translation by Elisha Qimron and James H. Charlesworth, “Rule of the Community,”
in he Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations, vol. 1,
Rule of the Community and Related Documents (ed. James H. Charlesworth and Frank Moore
Cross; PTSDSS 1; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994).
3. Michael appears also in the war text 4Q285 (4QSefer ha-Milhiamah) 1:3.
4. Carol Newsom, “Angelic Liturgy: Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice (4Q400–4Q407,
11Q17, Mas 1 k),” in he Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English
Translations, vol. 4B, Angelic Liturgy: Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice (PTSDSS 4B; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999).
5. Carol Newsom (Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice: A Critical Edition [HSS 27; Atlanta:
Scholars Press, 1985], 133–34, 143–44) restores the name Melchizedek in 4Q401 frg. 11.3 as
the name of the angelic high priest and suggests restoring it as one possibility also in 4Q401
frg. 22.3.

14:18, in combination with the reference in the royal Psalm 110: “you are a priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (110:4), traditions on which early
Christians would later draw in their articulation of Jesus’ role as a high priest in
the letter to the Hebrews (Heb 7:17). 11Q13 2:9–11 reads:
[And h]e (Melchizedek) will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, exe-
cuting judgment as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who
said, “God (elohim) has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment” (Ps 82:1). And it was concerning him that he said “(Let
the assembly of the peoples) return to the height above them; God (el) will judge
the peoples” (Ps 7:7–8).6
he text continues by recounting how Melchizedek, with the aid of the
angels (“gods [of justice]”), will destroy Belial and his evil lot. Here Melchizedek
is portrayed not only as a priestly igure but also as a heavenly warrior and judge
who exacts vengeance on behalf of God at the end-time. It is noteworthy that his
role as a judge is supported by biblical citations (Ps 82:1 and 7:7–8) in which refer-
ences to God (l) and Myhl)) are applied to Melchizedek.7
His extensive authority
has led to speculations about his precise identity as a divine being, or a god. But
apparently, the Qumran sectarians did not perceive the belief in a principal arch-
angel who functioned as God’s right hand as a threat to the belief in the one God,
nor indeed, to the ultimate power of God. hese traditions that present an angel
in the role of a vice-regent clearly underlie some of the beliefs concerning Jesus
that would emerge much later.8
Angels are commonly associated with natural phenomena, as they control
the movement of the heavenly bodies and the natural forces, that is, winds, rains,
lightning, and so on (e.g., Jub. 2:2; 1 En. 60:16–22). hey were created on the irst
day according to the book of Jubilees and assigned tasks related to their com-
mand over various natural forces. Several sectarian documents, including the
Berakoth (4Q286 3 a–d.4) and Hodayot (1QHa 1:10–21), presume that the angels
were in charge of natural phenomena. hough present at creation, the angels nor-
mally were not believed to have assisted God in the process.
4. Angels as Priests
A popular image is that of angelic priests serving in a heavenly temple, praising
God, which is the theme that dominates the Sabbath Songs. hese songs make
6. Translation (with slight modiications) by Geza Vermes, he Complete Dead Sea
Scrolls in English (New York: Penguin, 1997), 501.
7. For a discussion about the identity of Melchizedek, see John J. Collins, “Powers in
Heaven: God, Gods, and Angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls
(ed. John J. Collins and Robert A. Kugler; SDSSRL; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 9–28.
8. Ibid., 19–22.

528 CECILIA WASSEN
up a collection of thirteen hymns composed as a liturgical cycle for the Sabbaths
of the irst quarter of the solar year.9
hey meditate on the priestly angels serv-
ing in the heavenly sanctuaries. Comprising calls to praise and descriptions of
the angelic praise as well as the heavenly sanctuaries, the Sabbath Songs never
provide the actual words of prayer spoken by the angels, yet are written to be
recited by the community.10
In sublime, rhythmic language, using strange syn-
tax, the songs evoke the transcendent, celestial world and allow the worshipers,
the chanters, to participate in the angelic praise.11
he following excerpt from the
seventh song (4Q403 1 i.30b–33a) illustrates the genre:
Praise the God of the exalted heights, O you exalted ones among all the gods
of knowledge. Let the holiest of the god-like beings magnify the King of glory
who sanctiies by His holiness all His holy ones. O you chiefs of the praises of
all the god-like beings, praise the majestically [pr]aiseworthy God. For in the
splendour of praise is the glory of His kingship. In it is the praise of all the god-
like beings together with the splendour of all [His] king[liness].12
Following a description of the temple in the climactic seventh song, the last
ive move the focus gradually from the outer chamber to the innermost sanctu-
ary, the holy of holies. his vivid yet elusive presentation of the temple is inlu-
enced particularly by Ezekiel’s visions of a future temple in chs. 40–48.13
Ezekiel’s
visions of the throne chariot and the heavenly beings surrounding it in chs. 1
and 10 are also important sources of inspiration for elaborations of the throne
chariot and its wheels, which are seen as animate and are taking part in the praise
(4Q403 1 ii.15).14
Indeed, the whole temple building appears to be spiritual.15
he
last song, and the climax of the composition, describes the splendid appearance
of the angels and their sacriices. Although regular cultic terms for sacriices and
oferings are used, the sacriices ofered are of a spiritual nature, consisting of
blessings and praises.
he precise function of these songs is widely debated. he oicial editor of
the collection, Carol Newsom, explains that they provided a virtual experience
9. For an introduction to the Sabbath Songs, see Newsom, “Angelic Liturgy,” 1–15.
10. Bilhah Nitzan, Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry (STDJ 12; Leiden: Brill, 1994),
285, 292–93.
11. Rachel Elior, he hree Temples: On the Emergence of Jewish Mysticism (Oxford: Lit-
tmann Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004), 169.
12. Unless otherwise stated, all translations are from Donald W. Parry and Emanuel Tov,
eds., he Dead Sea Scrolls Reader (6 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 2005).
13. Newsom, Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice, 53.
14. 4Q403 1 ii.15: “and the chariots of His inner shrine give praise together, and their
cherubim and thei[r] ophannim (wheels) bless wondrously.”
15. Philip S. Alexander, Mystical Texts: Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice and Related Manu-
scripts (LSTS 61; CQS 7; London: T&T Clark, 2006), 54.

of being present in the heavenly temple among the angelic priests.16
Similarly,
Philip Alexander unequivocally states “the temple is not merely an object of
intellectual speculation or literary curiosity: it constitutes a divine, transcendent
realm that is seen as the goal of mystical aspiration.”17
he songs may thus be seen
as relecting mystical practices that induced in the participants the experience of
transcending the human realm and being united with the angels in worship.18
It
is tempting to understand these meditations on the celestial temple in light of the
sect’s rejection of the actual temple service in Jerusalem as corrupt.19
hrough
these mystical texts, the participants could enter into the heavenly sanctuary by
taking part in a worship that went far beyond anything they could possibly hope
to experience by oiciating in the Jerusalem temple.
Although a Qumranic provenance is uncertain, with nine copies discov-
ered at Qumran (and one at Masada) it is clear that the Sabbath Songs held an
important place in the Qumran community. Another collection that entails
hymns with a similar focus on the heavenly temple and the angelic worship is
Berakoth (4Q286–290), which is a sectarian composition. hese hymns are also
concerned with God’s earthly creation, which takes part in the praise (4Q286 5
a–c). Here there is an attempt to connect the celestial and terrestrial spheres, not
only through united human and angelic worship, but also by including the whole
cosmos as subject to the authority of the angels (4Q286 3 a–d).
5. Angels as Warriors
Besides priests, a second prominent role of angels found in the Dead Sea Scrolls
is that of warriors. his idea has precedents in the Hebrew Bible in the com-
mon divine title Lord of Hosts, which designates God as the commander of the
angelic troops (Pss 89:9; 103:21; 1 Sam 17:45; Josh 5:13–14), as well as narratives
about individual angels who carry out God’s punishments (e.g., Isa 37:36; Gen
19:12–13).20
In several texts from Qumran such ideas are radically developed as
part of intense speculations about the end-time that commonly would include
16. Carol Newsom, “Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice,” in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea
Scrolls (= EDSS) (ed. Lawrence H. Schifman and James C. VanderKam; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000), 889.
17. Alexander, Mystical Texts, 10.
18. An alternative interpretation is ofered by Crispin Fletcher-Louis (All the Glory of
Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls [STDJ 42; Leiden: Brill, 2002]), who
argues that the Sabbath Songs relect an angelomorphism; that is, they concern humans who
are seen as angels. For a critique of his views, see Alexander, Mystical Texts, 45–47.
19. Newsom (“Songs,” EDSS, 888) explains that “the text readily may be understood as a
means of enhancing the sense of priestly identity through its vivid description of the Israelite
priesthood’s angelic counterparts.”
20. Isaiah 37:36 reads, “hen the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred
eighty-ive thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned they were all dead
bodies.”

530 CECILIA WASSEN
a inal battle between the forces of light and darkness. One hanksgiving Hymn
dwells on the role of the angels in the end-time war: “the war of the heroes of
heaven shall spread over the world and shall not return until an annihilation that
has been determined from eternity is completed” (1QHa 11:35–36). It is, however,
the War Scroll (1QM) that focuses extensively on the inal war between the Sons
of Light and the Sons of Darkness. In terminology reminiscent of the discourse
on the two spirits in 1QS 3:13–4:26, the document describes how the Sons of
Light are aided by the heavenly host and the Sons of Darkness, by Belial’s forces.21
1QM 1:9–11 reads,
On the day when the Kittim fall there shall be a battle and horrible carnage
before the God of Israel, for it is a day appointed by Him from ancient times as
a battle of annihilation for the Sons of Darkness. On that day the congregation
of the gods and the congregation of men shall engage one another, resulting in
great carnage. he Sons of Light and the forces of Darkness shall ight together
to show the strength of God with the roar of a great multitude and the shout of
gods and men; a day of disaster.
his strict dualistic ideology divides the human and the supernatural realms into
two opposing camps of good and evil, leaving no grey zone in between. he oppo-
nents are identiied as traditional enemies, like Edom and Moab, or simply “the
nations” (12:11; 15:2), but the expression “Sons of Darkness” emphasizes, rather,
the mythical, eschatological nature of the enemies. hey belong to the camp of
Belial together with the army of his spirits. In contrast to descriptions of the inal
war in apocalyptic literature, the War Scroll is an instruction manual providing
directives for what actions to take and detailed prescriptions for the priests who
are to lead the battle. his unusual literary form relects a great immediacy and
urgency of the apocalyptic expectations.22
6. Angels as Protectors or Guardian Angels
Living at the dawn of the eschaton, the sectarians were intently aware of the
destructive and deceiving abilities of Belial and his spirits and therefore devel-
oped strategies to protect themselves, which included the help of good angels. An
important role of the Prince of Lights (the Angel of Truth) in the discourse on
the two spirits in the Community Rule was to protect the Sons of Light against the
21. here are many fragmentary manuscripts of war texts (4Q471; 4Q491–497; 4Q285;
11Q14) that can be divided into copies of a recension similar to 1QM, copies of diferent recen-
sions, and copies of an independent work (4Q285; 11Q14); see Jean Duhaime, he War Texts:
1QM and Related Manuscripts (CQS 6; London: T&T Clark, 2004), 12–43. In contrast to 1QM,
4Q285 frg. 4 elaborates on the role of the Davidic Messiah.
22. John J. Collins, Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Literature of the Dead Sea
Scrolls; London: Routledge, 1997), 93.

evil spirits who were trying to cause them to stumble (1QS 3:24–25).23
he sectar-
ian text the Songs of the Sage (4Q510 and 4Q511), which contains magical incan-
tations to be recited as protection from evil spirits, also emphasizes the protective
role of angels,24
Reminiscent of the Sabbath Songs, the introductions refer to the
Maskil, the Sage. he Songs praise God, highlighting his majesty and power in
magical terms. hus, the hymns are magically powerful, as Bilhah Nitzan has
shown.25
he nearness of the angels ofers protection as well:26
God has made me [dwell] in the shelter of the Almighty . . . [in the shadow of
his ha]nds he has hidden me . . . [He has concea]led me among his holy ones . . .
[in unis]on with his holy ones . . . [giving th]anks [to] God. (4Q511 frg. 8.6-9).27
Highlighting the references to angels, Philip Alexander states: “Basically the
Maskil warns the demons not to meddle with him and his community, because
they have got ‘protection.’”28
his protective role of the angels is evident also
in the exorcistic psalms, 11QApocryphal Psalmsa (11Q11), which invokes God
to send his angels to ight against the demons; thus 4:4-6 reads “YHWH will
strike you with a [grea]t b[low] to destroy you [ ] And in his fury [he will send]
against you a powerful angel [to carry out] his [entire comm]and, who [will not
show] you mercy.” he angels are also invoked to guard the listeners from being
attacked by disease and disaster (6:10-11).
7. Angels as Mediators of Revelation
A common role of angels in ancient Jewish literature is that of mediators of spe-
ciic revelations. hey appear as heavenly guides in stories of ascent into heavens,
such as in 1 Enoch 1–36; they are interpreters of dreams or visions as in Daniel 7;
or they simply show up in dreams and visions to deliver a message, as frequently
in Luke’s Gospel (e.g., Luke 1:26–38). he visionary work, the New Jerusalem
text—most likely a nonsectarian composition—describes a guided tour of the
future Jerusalem by an angel. Although the Qumran sectarians may have revered
such accounts, there is sparse evidence of this conventional function of angels
23. Cf. the protecting role of an angel in Gen 24:7; Tob 5:22; 8:1–3.
24. See Bilhah Nitzan, “Hymns from Qumran: 4Q405–511,” in he Dead Sea Scrolls:
Forty Years of Research (ed. Devorah Dimant and Uriel Rappaport; STDJ 10; Leiden: Brill;
Jerusalem: Magnes. 1992), 54–63.
25. Ibid.
26. Nitzan, Qumran Prayer, 271.
27. Translation by Nitzan, Qumran Prayer, 270.
28. Philip Alexander, “‘Wrestling against Wickedness in High Places’: Magic in the
Worldview of the Qumran Community,” in he Scrolls and the Scriptures: Qumran Fity Years
Ater (ed. Stanley E. Porter and Craig A. Evans; JSPSup 26; Sheield: Sheield Academic Press,
1997), 323.

532 CECILIA WASSEN
in the literature that they wrote themselves.29
his may be due in part to the fact
that the sect produced no apocalypses, a genre in which angels speciically appear
as mediators, though this motif is attested in several non-apocalyptic texts (Jub.
1:27–29; T. Reu. 5:3; T. Levi 9:6) as well. Further, many documents assume that
the sectarians had access to divine knowledge without the aid of angels through
a more direct means of revelation from God.30
he speaker in the so-called
Teacher Hymns in the Hodayot frequently thanks God for providing him with
knowledge and insight: for example, “I know through Your understanding” (cf.
1QHa 6:12; 7:12); or, “You display Your might through me, and reveal Yourself
to me in Your strength as perfect light” (1QHa 12:23). Similarly, in 1QS 11:5–7
the hymnist boasts: “My eyes have gazed on that which is eternal, on wisdom
concealed from man, on knowledge and wise design (hidden) from the sons of
men.”31
At the same time, many documents, including the Sabbath Songs and
Hodayot, emphasize the superior knowledge of the angels, such as in the frequent
expression “angels of knowledge.”32
here are also references to the teaching of
angels, for example, “from their mouths (come) teachings concerning all matters
of holiness” (4Q400 1 i.17). Presumably, then, divine knowledge is available not
only through revelation by God (through Torah and other means) but also by
close association with the angels.
here are also passages in 1QS and 1QM that give hints that angelic revela-
tions are possible. he visionary in the concluding hymn in the Community Rule
has gained full insight into divine mysteries, which are related to the commu-
nity’s association with the angels (1QS 11:5–9; see below). According to the War
Scroll, the sharing of knowledge with the angels belongs to the eschaton (1QM
17:8). Nonetheless, in a hymn that appears unrelated to the theme of war (1QM
10:8b–16), the insights that come from seeing and listening to the angels are jux-
taposed with learning the statutes (from Torah), thereby giving the impression
that the knowledge concerns present reality:
Who is like Your people Israel, whom You have chosen for Yourself from all
the peoples of the lands; the people of the saints of the covenant, learned in the
statutes, enlightened in understan[ding ] those who hear the glorious voice and
see the holy angels, whose ears are open; hearing deep things. (10:8b–11)
29. John J. Collins, he Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic
Literature (2nd ed.; Biblical Resource Series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 151.
30. For example, the pesharim are based on divine, inspired revelation, but no angels
appear as mediators. Collins (Apocalypticism, 151), observes that the Teacher of Righteous-
ness, as the oicial mediator of divine knowledge, did not need the assistance of angels (cf.
1QpHab 7:3–5).
31. Translation by Vermes, Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, 115.
32. See also the following: “in the chiefs of praise-ofering are tongues of knowledge”
(4Q405 23 ii.12) and “they declare His regal Majesty according to their knowledge” (4Q400
frg. 2.3); cf. 1QHa 11:21–23. According to Newsom (Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice, 30), knowl-
edge is the most prominent quality of angels in the Sabbath Songs.

he general view relected in these texts is not that angels are visiting elect
human beings to disclose secrets, as we tend to ind in apocalypses, but that
through communion with the angels participation in divine knowledge is still
possible. he revelation through angels appears to be subtle and indirect.
8. Spiritual Union with Angels
Many texts assume that the gap between the divine and human spheres can be
bridged and that humans can enter into communion with angels. In the War
Scroll the boundaries between the angelic and human forces are blurry at times,
since they are grouped together into opposing camps under all-encompassing
headings, such as the “lot of God” (1QM 13:5; 17:7–8) and the “lot of light” (1:9),
and the corresponding “army of Belial” (1:13) and “the lot of darkness” (13:5). 33
his union between angels and humans in the end-time war obviously concerns
the eschaton. At the same time, the diferent status of angels and humans is also
highlighted, such as in the demand that only ritually pure and unblemished per-
sons participate in the battle, with the explanation “for holy angels are present
with their army” (7:3–6).34
here are other passages, however, that indicate that closeness between
human and angelic realms can also be a present reality. hrough the Sabbath
Songs worshipers may experience such a union with the angels in the present.35
he concluding hymn in 1QS asserts that the angelic and human communities
are united (11:7–9):
God has given them [secret knowledge] to his chosen ones [= humans] as an
everlasting possession, and has caused them to inherit the lot of the Holy Ones
[= angels]. He has joined their assembly [= humans] to the Sons of Heaven to
be a council of the community, a foundation of the building of holiness, and
eternal plantation throughout all ages to come.36
Again, we may note here the blurry boundaries between humans and angels;
the human congregation in some sense, spiritually, lives together with the angels.
33. he common nature of the human and angelic participants is underscored in attri-
butes common for both parties. For example, both humans and angels are “the elect” (10:9;
12:1, 5); both are called “holy ones”; and 1:8–9 presents humans with typical angelic attributes:
“then [the Sons of Righ]teousness shall shine to all ends of the world, continuing to shine forth
until the end of the appointed seasons of darkness” (cf. the partly preserved line 16: “the holy
ones shall shine,” which may refer to either humans or angels).
34. It should be recognized that the War Scroll is a composite document with four main
parts that have diferent perspectives: cols 1; 2–9; 10–14; and 15–19. See Collins, Apocalyptic
Imagination, 167; Duhaime, War Texts, 45–61.
35. For the distinction between the Sabbath Songs and other forms of poetry that relect
such unity with angels, see Nitzan, Qumran Prayer, 292.
36. Translation by Vermes, Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, 115.

534 CECILIA WASSEN
Similarly, the speaker in 1QHa 11:21–23 expresses belief in humans’ ability to
enter the angelic realm and praise with the angelic host:
he perverse spirit You have cleansed from great transgression, that he might
take his stand with the host of the holy ones, and enter together in the yahiad
with the congregation of the sons of heaven. And for man, You have allotted an
eternal destiny with the spirits of knowledge, to praise Your name together with
shouts of joy, and to recount Your wonders before all Your creatures.
his passage expresses togetherness or unity (dxyb) with angels. Yahiad is of
course a key term of self identiication of the sect; here, this togetherness embraces
both humans and angels. Such unity is possible through God’s grace in forgiv-
ing human transgressions, so the faithful, now cleansed, can join the angels. he
last phrase alludes to an everlasting unity with angels, suggesting in the tradi-
tion of the book of Daniel (12:3) that righteous humans will actually be turned
into angels ater death, or perhaps at the eschaton, which ever happens irst. It is
worth noting that many of the passages that assert a communion between the
community and angels appear in hymns. his indicates that it was particularly
during worship that sectarians would experience the presence of angels.37
Some texts articulate the angelic–human unity as if there were no boundar-
ies between the celestial and terrestrial realms; for example, the writer of the
Songs of the Sage (5Q510–511) expresses the exaltation of at least some members,
who will be puriied and serve God in his celestial temple as angels (4Q511 frg.
35.2–4).
God will sancti[fy] some of those reined sevenfold and some of the Holy Ones
for Himself for an eternal sanctuary. And (there shall) be purity amongst the
cleansed. And they shall be priests, His righteous people, His host, and ser-
vants, angels of His glory.”38
How much one should emphasize a futuristic sense here is uncertain; regardless
of whether these texts relect a realized or a futuristic eschatological outlook, in a
liturgical context these hymns must have encouraged the participants to identify
themselves with the angels.
Similarly, the sectarian document Blessings, 1QSb, elevates the priests to the
ranks of angels. hese blessings have an eschatological orientation, but as Geza
Vermes proposes, “it is, however, possible that they were actually used during the
course of some liturgy anticipating and symbolizing the coming of the messianic
era.”39
37. Björn Frennesson, “In a Common Rejoicing”: Liturgical Communion with Angels in
Qumran (SSU 14; Uppsala: Uppsala University Library, 1999), 37–41.
38. Translation loosely based on Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 162–63.
39. Vermes, Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, 374.

One text, appropriately entitled the Self-Gloriication Hymn, stands out
because of the exalted claims by the speaker. While comparing himself to angels,
he also claims superiority to them; in contrast to the angels who never sit (4Q405
20 ii.21–22) this speaker gets to sit on a throne like God. he hymn is extant in
copies that belong to the Hodayot and one manuscript (4Q491) originally identi-
ied as part of the War Scroll.40
he following excerpt is from 4Q491 (11 i.12–16):
. . . a mighty throne in the congregation of the gods. None of the ancient kings
shall sit on it, and their nobles [shall] not [ here are no]ne comparable [to me
in] my glory, no one (shall be exalted) besides me; none shall associate with me.
For I dwelt in the [ ] in the heavens, and there is no one[ ] I am reckoned with
the gods and my abode is in the holy congregation.
he identiication of the implied speaker (who should not necessarily be
equated with the author) is complicated by the uncertainty of the relationship
between the manuscripts and the connection to the War Scroll. he oicial editor,
Maurice Baillet, proposed that the archangel Michael was the speaker, but Mor-
ton Smith persuasively argued that the hymn concerns a human being, likely the
Teacher of Righteousness, who in this case is presented as deiied.41
he claim of
being superior to the kings certainly points to a human being.42
here is a debate as to the extent of union between angels and humans that
these kinds of passages envisage. It is clear, however, that with the plausible
exception of the last hymn, overall these documents maintain a clear distinc-
tion between the human and the divine spheres. hey express a tension between
belonging to the human race and as such sharing its sinful nature, and partaking
in the perfect heavenly world in communion with angels. Such tension may not
have been expected to be resolved until the eschaton, when full union with the
angels would be possible.43
40. For a description of the manuscripts, see Duhaime, War Texts, 35–40; Martin G.
Abegg, Jr., “Who Ascended to Heaven? 4Q491, 4Q427, and the Teacher of Righteousness,”
in Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. Craig A. Evans and Peter W. Flint;
SDSSRL 1; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 61–73; and John Collins, “A hrone in Heavens:
Apotheosis in Pre-Christian Judaism,” in Death, Ecstasy, and Other Worldly Journeys (ed.
John J. Collins and Michael Fishbane; Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995), 53.
41. Collins suggests that the text concerns a leader of the sect (“hrone in Heavens,”
54–55).
42. Morton Smith, “Ascent to Heavens and Deiication in 4QMa,” in Archaeology and
History in the Dead Sea Scrolls: he New York University Conference in Memory of Yigael Yadin
(ed. Lawrence H. Schifman; JSPSup 8; Sheield: JSOT Press, 1990), 181–88.
43. hus 1QHa 11:23–25 continues (11:21–23 is quoted above), “But I, a creature of clay,
what am I? Kneaded with water, for whom am I to be reckoned, and what is my strength? For
I have taken my stand within the domain of wickedness, and I am with the wretched by lot.”
Nitzan (Qumran Prayer, 275) points out the distinction between the human and angelic realms
evident in the Hodayot and the Songs of the Sage. Newsom makes the same general observa-

536 CECILIA WASSEN
In addition to poetic texts that may relect on the mystical experiences of
joining the heavenly host, three of the rules texts, the Damascus Document (CD),
the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa), and the War Scroll, refer to the angelic pres-
ence as a reason for excluding the ritually impure, and other imperfect members,
from participating in the assembly and in the war camp. 44
In these cases, the
presence of the angels in the community is presented as a matter of fact. he three
documents list various defects, with an emphasis on physical defects, and refer to
the presence of angels in similar terminology, “because holy angels are in their
midst” (4QDa 8 i.9). Although these laws are clearly inspired by the list of physi-
cal defects that render priests ineligible for service in the temple (Lev 21:17–23),
they may also express a fear of demons. Since physical ailments were generally
believed to be caused by demons and evil spirits, by excluding those possibly pos-
sessed, the regulations ensured that no evil spirits would enter into the meetings
(CD, 1QSa) or into the war camp.45
hese laws, then, are further indications of
the reality of the angelic–human communion that Qumran literature expresses.
he close communion with angels puts stringent obligations on the sectar-
ians; they aspired to live a perfect life of purity, holiness, and obedience, like the
angels. In her article “Men as Angels: he Self-Image of the Qumran Commu-
nity,” Devorah Dimant demonstrates how the sectarians “conceived their own
existence as analogical to that of angels” on many levels. Dimant provides a list
of characteristics that angels and community members share that point to an
imitation of angels, including “existing in perfect purity,” having no “sin in their
midst,” and “possessing divine wisdom.”46
Conversely, the opposite characteris-
tics belong to the other camp, that is, impurity, transgressions, and ignorance.
he stringent purity rules of the sect as well as the alleged celibacy of (some)
sectarians may be seen as part of their aspirations to live like angels.47
hough
angels were very much male, as we pointed out above, they were not supposed to
be engaged in sexual activities; as Jesus said, “when they rise from the dead, they
tion with regard to the Sabbath Songs (“‘He has Established for Himself Priests’: Human and
Angelic Priesthood in the Qumran Sabbath Shirot,” in Schifman, Archaeology and History in
the Dead Sea Scrolls, 117),.
44. See CD 15:15–17/4QDa 8 i.6–9; 1QSa 2:3–9; 1QM 7:3–6.
45. See Cecilia Wassen, “What Do Angels Have against the Blind and the Deaf? Rules
of Exclusion in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Common Judaism: Explorations in Second-Temple
Judaism (ed. Wayne O. McCready and Adele Reinhartz; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008), 115–29.
46. Devorah Dimant, “Men as Angels: he Self-Image of the Qumran Community,” in
Religion and Politics in the Ancient Near East (ed. Adele Berlin; Studies and Texts in Jewish
History and Culture; Potomac: University Press of Maryland, 1996), 93–103.
47. Collins, “Powers in Heaven,” 24; also Fletcher-Louis, Glory of Adam, 133. Although
Josephus (J.W. 2.120–21), Philo (Hypoth. 11.14), and Pliny the Elder (Nat. 5.17.4) claim that the
Essenes were celibate (with the exception of one branch that married, according to Josephus,
J.W. 2.160–61), there is no clear evidence for this practice in the scrolls; see Cecilia Wassen,
Women in the Damascus Document (SBL Academia Biblica 21; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Lit-
erature; Leiden: Brill, 2005), 5–9.

neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Mark
12:25). In this context we should remember also the parallel terminology for
the angelic and sectarian communities, such as “congregation” (hd(), “council”
(dws), “lot” (lrwg), and “holy ones” (My#wdq).48
Such terminology advanced the
forming of a sectarian identity that saw its community as a mirror image of the
heavenly one.
9. Final Reflections
In conclusion, in line with many Jewish texts from the Second Temple period,
which elaborated on the nature and role of angels, many Qumran documents
relect developed speculations about angels. Still, we need to think about why
angels played such an important role in the sectarian imagination. he focus
on angels in Second Temple Judaism in general is oten understood as a way of
bridging the distance between an increasingly transcendent God and humanity,
perhaps inluenced by the structure of huge empires in which royal oicials were
in charge in dealing with the king’s subjects whereas the king was hardly ever
seen. he angels in the scrolls are certainly doing God’s work by maintaining
the cosmos and executing judgment. But this overall image does not it very well
with the pattern of angelic functions in the scrolls. Rather than intermediar-
ies who operate between the human and heavenly realms, the angels form a fel-
lowship with the faithful elect. In the scrolls the faithful have the ability to join
the angels by transcending the human sphere and thereby come closer to God;
through joining the angels in their service in the heavenly temple, the elect can
even approach the innermost sanctuary.
Furthermore, we do not ind strong evidence of angels as mediators of rev-
elations in the sectarian literature, at least not in a direct role as heavenly guides
or interpreters of dreams and visions. Instead, the sectarians may have bene-
ited from divine knowledge in an indirect way, by communion with angels. he
scrolls at Qumran also testify to a rather optimistic view of humans’ ability to
reach the divine sphere in a direct way, and, conversely, to a belief in God’s direct,
unmediated revelation to humans. his circumstance challenges us to rethink
the reasons for the developed speculations about angels in the Qumran litera-
ture; there are likely many factors that contribute to this interest. From a socio-
logical perspective, the community behind the scrolls was a sect that displayed
all the key markers of a group that had separated itself from the population in
general; they marked boundaries toward outsiders through special laws, a dis-
tinct lifestyle, and an ideology that divided humankind into good and evil, light
and darkness.49
From this dualistic perspective the sectarians belonged to the
good camp, a constructed imaginary space that they inhabited together with the
48. See Newsom, Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice, 29.
49. See, e.g., Cecilia Wassen and Jutta Jokiranta, “Sectarianism in the Rule of the Com-

538 CECILIA WASSEN
angels. Since the rest of the world was dominated by darkness, ruled by Belial, the
Lord of darkness, the sectarians probably felt closer to the angels in the heavenly
world than to their fellow human beings, Jews and others. his dualistic perspec-
tive alone must have sparked a huge interest in their angelic counterparts.
Finally, the intense speculations about angels are also the outcome of the
immanence that characterizes the apocalyptic expectations of the sect; every-
thing evil would be annihilated very soon and, in the paradise-like, transformed
world that was to follow, the sectarians would live in unity with angels. Accord-
ing to this outlook of world history, the sect saw itself as already beneiting from
eschatological privileges and experiencing God’s presence in a tangible way,
through a union with angels, a union that, according to some documents, would
last forever.
Selected Bibliography
Abegg, Martin G., Jr. “Who Ascended to Heaven? 4Q491, 4Q427, and the Teacher
of Righteousness.” Pages 61–73 in Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead
Sea Scrolls. Edited by C. A. Evans and P. W. Flint. Studies in the Dead Sea
Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
Alexander, Philip. Mystical Texts: Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice and Related Man-
uscripts. Library of Second Temple Studies 61. Companion to the Qumran
Scrolls 7. London: T&T Clark, 2006.
Collins, John J. “‘Wrestling against Wickedness in High Places’: Magic in the
Worldview of the Qumran Community.” Pages 318–37 in he Scrolls and
the Scriptures: Qumran Fity Years Ater. Edited by Stanley E. Porter and
Craig A. Evans. Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement 26.
Sheield: Sheield Academic Press, 1997.
———. Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
London: Routledge, 1997
———. he Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Lit-
erature. 2nd ed. Biblical Resource Series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
———. “Powers in Heaven: God, Gods, and Angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pages
9–28 in Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by John J. Collins and Rob-
ert A. Kugler. Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
Dimant, Devorah. “Men as Angels: he Self-Image of the Qumran Community.”
Pages 93–103 in Religion and Politics in the Ancient Near East. Studies and
Texts in Jewish History and Culture. Edited by Adele Berlin. Potomac: Uni-
versity Press of Maryland, 1996.
munity and the Damascus Document,” in Sectarianism in Early Judaism: Sociological Advances
(ed. David J. Chalcrat; BibleWorlds; London: Equinox, 2007), 206–46.

Duhaime, Jean. he War Texts: 1QM and Related Manuscripts. Companion to the
Qumran Scrolls 6. London: T&T Clark, 2004.
Fletcher-Louis, Crispin. All the Glory of Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the
Dead Sea Scrolls. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 42. Leiden:
Brill, 2002.
Frennesson, Björn. “In a Common Rejoicing”: Liturgical Communion with Angels
in Qumran. Studia Semitica Upsaliensia 14. Uppsala: Uppsala University
Library, 1999.
Newsom, Carol. Songs of the Sabbath Sacriice: A Critical Edition. Harvard
Semitic Studies 27. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985.
———. “‘He Has Established for Himself Priests’: Human and Angelic Priesthood
in the Qumran Sabbath Shirot.” Pages 101–20 in Archaeology and History
in the Dead Sea Scrolls: he New York University Conference in Memory of
Yigael Yadin. Edited by Lawrence Schifman. Journal for the Study of the
Pseudepigrapha Supplement 8. Sheield: JSOT Press, 1990.
Nitzan, Bilhah. “Hymns from Qumran: 4Q405–511.” Pages 12–43 in he Dead
Sea Scrolls: Forty Years of Research. Edited by Devorah Dimant and Uriel
Rappaport. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 10. Leiden: Brill; Jeru-
salem: Magnes, 1992.
———. Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of
Judah 12. Leiden: Brill, 1994.
Wassen, Cecilia. “What Do Angels Have against the Blind and the Deaf? Rules
of Exclusion in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pages 115–29 in Common Judaism:
Explorations in Second-Temple Judaism. Edited by Wayne O. McCready and
Adele Reinhartz. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.

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