David Volgger, «The Day of Atonement according to the Temple Scroll», Vol. 87 (2006) 251-260
The Temple Scroll (11Q19) dedicates about two and a half columns to the Day of
Atonement (25,10-27,10). The present study concentrates on the content of the
transmitted text (25,10-16; 26-3-13, and 27,01-02.1-10), analyses its structure,
and explains its development of thought. The focus of the text seems to be on the
concept of the sin-offering. First, the sin-offering of a he-goat makes part of the
common festival sacrifice. Second, the two rams belong as burnt-offering to the
special sin-offering of the Feast. And third, a he-goat for YHWH is offered as a
special sin-offering on the altar of burnt-offering, whereas, a second he-goat for
Azazel bears all the sins of Israel and is sent out into the desert. Since the he-goat
for Azazel does not get in touch with the altar of burnt-offering, it cannot be
classified as a burnt-offering. Moreover, it shares only one major feature with the
other sin-offerings, namely, to remove sins.
The Day of Atonement according to the Temple Scroll 253
VII ˆwrkzl hmhl hzh µwyh hyhw
hmhl hyhy ˆwtbç tbç yk hkalm lwk wb wç[y awlw (6)
wb wn[ty awl rça wa hkalm wb hç[y rça (7) çyah lwk
hmm[ (8) Ëšwtm wtrknw
! ˆwtbç tbç
hzh µwyh hmkl hyhy çdwq arqm
hmkytwbçwm lwkb ˆwrkzl wtwa hmtçdqw (9)
hkalm (10) lwk wç[t awlw
1. An overview of the festival agenda
The preserved regulations for the Day of Atonement in 25,10-27,10 can
be structured into seven subsections that are in part chiastically arranged. For
example, the opening and the final sections (I and VII) both speak of the
“humiliation of all lives†(hn[ Hit. in 25,11 and 27,7). The “common festival
sacrifice†is mentioned first in section II and then once more in section VI:
27,1-2 most probably concentrates on the he-goat as sin-offering and 27,3-5
on the remaining animals of the entire burnt-offering. Isolated from the
context are the lines 27,01-02 (V), which obviously complete a sacrificial
agenda. They could refer to the two rams in 25,15-16 (III).
At the center of attention is the sacrifice of the two he-goats (IV) which
is extensively described in 26,3-12. All in all, the opening and ending section
frame an extensive, complex text block (III-VI), which lists the different
sacrifices of the Day of Atonement and specifies some of their cult agendas
in detail (3).
2. The first and the final section
The Day of Atonement is dated in 25,10 as “the tenth day of this monthâ€
h z h ç d w j b h r ç [ b.
If the indicative pronoun hzh is related to 25,2, it becomes
clear from the reconstructed text of this line that it refers to the “the seventh
month†?y[ybçh çdw¿jb. The date of the Day of Atonement, therefore, follows
the same pattern as the Feast on the first day of the seventh month and is
parallel to the known dates in the first month (14,9-10; 17,6.10) but does not
show any connection with the cycles of the Feasts of First Fruits (18,10-13;
19,11-13; 21,12-14).
After the date the text continues with the prescription to humble oneself.
This is unfolded in two steps in 25,11-12. First, an apodictic sentence orders
the persons addressed in the second person plural “to humble themselves on
this day†hmkytwçpn ta wb wn[t (4). Then, the legal consequence is determined
(3) Cf. YADIN, The Temple Scroll, I, 132: “The laws of the Day of Atonement comprise
an introductory section with the injunction to observe the fast on the tenth of the seventh
month, the enumeration of sacrifices, the order of the ritual, and a closing section repeating
the injunction to observe the day as a Sabbath of Sabbaths and a fast dayâ€.
(4) L.H. SCHIFFMAN, “The Case of Atonement Ritualâ€, Biblical Perspectives.Early Use
and Interpretation of the Bible in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Proceedings of the First
International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and
Associated Literature, 12-14 May, 1996 (eds. M.E. STONE – E.G. CHAZON) (STDJ 28;
Leiden 1998) 184, points to some later books of the Bible (Ezra 8,21; Dan 10,12, cf. Ps
107,17). These interpret the verb hn[ Hit. as abstention from eating and drinking.