4QMess ar (4Q534) and Merkavah Mysticism

Author(s): James R. Davila

Source: Dead Sea Discoveries, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Nov., 1998), pp. 367-381
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4193104
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 4QMESS AR (4Q534) AND MERKAVAH MYSTICISM*

JAMES R. DAVILA
University of St. Andrews, Scotland

I. History of Interpretation
The QumranAramaictext 4Q534, preservedin two very fragmen-
tary columns,was publishedin 1964 by Jean Starckywith the siglum
4QMess ar.' It describes the birth, physical characteristics,esoteric
wisdom and revelatoryexperiences,and strugglesagainst the wicked,
of an unnamedfigure called "the chosen one of God." Starckyargued
in the editio princeps that this figure was the messiah. This interpre-
tationwas acceptedby Jean Carmignacin 1965, but in the same year
it was challengedby Joseph A. Fitzmyer,who proposedthat the scroll
actually describedthe birth and life of Noah.2He noted that intertes-
tamentalliteratureshows a particularinterestin Noah's birth, adven-
tures and wisdom, and that nothingin 4Q534 could not be understood
as referringto Noah. P. Grelot respondedsympatheticallyto the pro-
posal in 1975, and in 1978 Starckyretractedhis earlier identification
and acceptedFitzmyer'ssuggestionthat the documentrefersto Noah.3
In 1981, FlorentinoGarcia Martinezpublisheda long article support-
ing Fitzmyer's interpretationand proposing in addition that 4Q534

* I am delightedto dedicatethis article to ProfessorEugene Ulrich in honor of his

vast contributionto Qumranstudies, especially the many years he has invested in the
thanklesstask of editing the criticaleditions of the biblical texts.
' J. Starcky,"Un texte messianiquearamien de la Grotte4 de Qumrin,"Memorial
du cinqantenairede l'Ecole des langues orientales de l'InstitutCatholiquede Paris
(Paris:Bloud et Gay, 1964) 51-66.
2 J. Carmignac, "Les horoscopesde Qumran,"RevQ 5/18 (1965) 199-217, esp. 217;
J. Fitzmyer,"The Aramaic'Elect of God' Text from QumranCave 4," Essays on the
SemiticBackgroundof the New Testament(Missoula,MT: ScholarsPress, 1974) 127-
60 (publishedoriginallyin CBQ 27 [19651348-72).
3 P. Grelot, "H6noch et ses dcritures," RB 82 (1975) 481-500, esp. 488-99;
J. Starcky,"Le Maitrede Justiceet Jesus,"Le Mondede la Bible 4 (1978) 53-55. The
latter citation is from F. Garcia Martinez,Qumranand Apocalyptic:Studies on the
AramaicTextsfrom Qumran(STDJ9; Leiden:E.J. Brill, 1992) 1 n. 4. I have not been
able to obtainthe articlemyself.

? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 1998 Dead Sea Discoveries 5, 3

368 JAMES R. DAVILA

was a copy of the hithertolost Book of Noah.4He cites much evi-

dence for the existence of this work in antiquity, to which we
may add the mentionof rni zbn m:, "thebook of the wordsof Noah,"
in a fragment of the Genesis Apocryphon, first successfully read
with advancedphotographictechniquesin 1993.SOtheridentifications
have been proposed: Jonas Greenfield suggested that the figure is
Melchizedek, while Andre Dupont-Sommerargued that he is the
Chosen One (Messiah, Son of Man) describedin the Similitudesof
Enoch. Andre Caquothas carriedthis idea furtherand proposedthat
the protagonist is a "Henoch redivivus."6In 1996, Michael Wise,
MartinAbegg, and EdwardCook, in theirnew translationof the Dead
Sea Scrolls, suggest that "the initial impulsewas correct:the 'chosen
one' is a messiah, if not the messiah."They thinkhe may be a future
priestlymessiah.7In addition,Tom Blantonhas kindly made available
to me an unpublishedstudy in which he argues (independentlyof
Wise, Abegg, and Cook)thatthe hero of 4Q534 is an ideal, eschatolog-
ical priestlyfigure.8Still, the most widely acceptedview until recently
has been that the protagonistis Noah.9
Fitzmyer,J.T. Milik, and GarciaMartinezhave also suggestedthat
two other fragmentaryAramaicMSS, 4Q535 and 4Q536, are copies
of the same work as 4Q534.'0 However, although these two MSS
overlap with one another,they do not overlapanywherewith 4Q534,
and the parallelsin contentare not so strikingas to convince me that

4 Garcia Martinez, "4QMess ar and the Book of Noah," Qumran and Apocalyptic
1-44 (originally published in Spanish in Salmanticensis 28 [19811 195-232).
s R.C. Steiner, "The Heading of the Book of the Words of Noah on a Fragment of
the Genesis Apocryphon: New Light on a 'Lost' Work," DSD 2 (1995) 66-71.
6 J.C. Greenfield, "Prolegomenon," 3 Enoch or the Hebrew Book of Enoch (ed.
Hugo Odeberg; New York: Ktav, 1973) xi-xlvii, esp. xx-xxi (the original volume,
minus Greenfield's prologue, was published in 1928); A. Dupont-Sommer, "Deux doc-
uments horoscopiques esseniens decouverts a Qumrin, pres de la Mer Morte," CRAIBL
(1965) 239-53, esp. 246-53; A. Caquot, "4QMess ar I i 8-1 1," RevQ 15/57-58 (199 1)
145-55, esp. 155.
7 M.O. Wise, M. Abegg, and E. Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation
(San Francisco and London: HarperCollins, 1996) 427-29, the quotation is from p. 428.
8 T. Blanton, "4Q534: Not Noah, but the Ideal Levite," unpublished seminar paper,
University of Chicago, 1997.
9 See, for example, R. Eisenman and M. Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered
(London and New York: Penguin, 1992) 33-37; M.E. Stone, "The Dead Sea Scrolls
and the Pseudepigrapha," DSD 3 (1996) 270-95, esp. 288; G. Vermes, The Complete
Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London and New York: Penguin, 1997) 521-22.
10 Fitzmyer, The Aramaic 'Elect of God' Text," 158-59; J.T. Milik with M. Black,
The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1976) 56; Garcia Martinez, "4QMess ar and the Book of Noah," 17.
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 369

they really are part of the same work. In any case, they do not bear
either way on my main argumentin this paper.For this reason, I will
not considerthem furtherhere.
I too wish to challenge the prevailingconsensus,althoughmy pro-
posal is potentiallycompatiblewith all of those given so far. I argue
in this articlethat the protagonistof 4Q534, whoever else he may be,
is strikinglysimilarto the pictureof a Merkavahmystic which we can
buildup froma close examinationof the Hekhalotliteratureand medie-
val Hebrewphysiognomictractates.I furthercontendthat his descrip-
tion in 4Q534 is probably an early formulationof traditionsfound
later in far more developed form in Jewish mystical literature.

II. The Hebrew PhysiognomicLiterature

My point of entry is the parallelsdrawnby GershomScholem and
IthamarGruenwaldbetween the Dead Sea Scrolls (including4Q534)
and Hebrew physiognomic texts from late antiquityand the Middle
Ages. Several such documentsare now known. Scholempublishedone
titled "The Physiognomy of R. Ishmael" (Krnsr -1mO'ne nflm) in sev-
eral manuscriptsas well as a second (Oxford240 165b-166b),of which
Gruenwaldfound anotherand less corruptcopy." Gruenwaldhimself
publisheda thirdwork (T.-S. K 21) in one manuscript,'2and a fourth
(T.-S. K 21.95.L) has been publishedby Peter Schafer.'3These works
deal with the physical characteristicsof varioushumantypes and what
these characteristics,combined with astrological data, allegedly tell
about the characterand fate of the individualswho bear them.
Scholem argued in 1953 that the CommunityRule (lQS) shared
technical terminologywith the Physiognomyof R. Ishmael, particu-
larly a paralleluse of the term mlr*rn, based on an interpretationof

I G. Scholem, "Physiognomyand Chiromancy," SepherAssaf (Jerusalem:Mossad

Harav Kook, 1953) 459-95 (Hebrew); idem, "Ein Fragmentzur Physiognomikund
Chiromantikaus der Traditionder spatantikenjudischenEsoterik,"Liber Amicorum:
Studies in Honour of Professor Dr. C.J. Bleeker (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1969) 175-93 (all
citations of the Physiognomyof R. Ishmael follow the paragraphingin this article);
I. Gruenwald,"FurtherJewish Physiognomicand ChiromanticFragments,"Tarbiz40
(1970-71) 301-19, esp. 317-19 (Hebrew).
12 Gruenwald, "FurtherJewish Physiognomicand ChiromanticFragments,"306-17.
'3 P. Schafer,"Ein neues Fragmentzur Metoposkopieund Chiromantik," Hekhalot
Studien (Tubingen:J.C.B. Mohr [Siebeck], 1988) 84-95. In addition, a number of
medieval Jewish writersreportthat the Merkavahmystics made use of similar phys-
iognomictraditions(see Scholem,"Physiognomy,"459-68;Schafer,"EinneuesFragment,"
84 n. 1).
 370 JAMES R. DAVILA

Gen. 5:1 (that is, the nll5ln of Adam constitutethe natureor physi-
cal characteristicsof human beings).'4 Gruenwaldfollowed up this
observationin 1971 with new texts and new parallels.He showed that
another Qumrandocument (4Q186, to which we may now add the
Aramaic document 4Q561) is a physiognomictractatewith striking
similarities to the later texts. He also pointed out that 4Q534 and
Oxford240 165b-166bboth use a word for "lentils"(althoughnot the
same one) to describe significantphysical characteristics.5
These connections are importantfor my argumentbecause it has
been generally recognized that there is a close relationshipbetween
the medieval physiognomictractatesand the Hekhalotliterature.The
Physiognomy of R. Ishmael is narratedto R. Ishmael by the angel
Suriah.Both rabbi and angel play an importantrole in the Hekhalot
texts. This work also shares a numberof terminologicalpeculiarities
with the Hekhalotmaterials,and one passage seems to allude directly
to the ascent of the mystic. The single sentencein ?32 reads, "And if
he has one (line) that standson his foreheadcorrespondingto 'bind-
ings of crowns,' so he ascends."The expression"bindingof crowns"
(Y'"n ) is paralleledby a similarexpressionin theHekhalotRabbati,
and the ascent may be a mysticalascentto the Chariot.'6Scholemalso

14 Scholem, "Physiognomy," 478-79. Schaferexpressesreservationsabout his inter-

pretationof M7fnn in "Ein neues Fragment,"91-92 n. 31.
'1 Gruenwald,"FurtherJewish Physiognomicand ChiromanticFragments,"304-6,
317. On4Q186,anencodedHebrewphysiognomicwork,see ].M. Allegro,"AnAstrological
CrypticDocumentfrom Qumran,"JSS 9 (1964) 291-94 and plate 1; QumranCave 4.1
(4Q158-4Q186)(DJD 5; Oxford:ClarendonPress, 1968) 88-91, pi. XXXI; Carmignac,
"Les horoscopesde Qumran,"esp. 199-206;M. Delcor,"Recherchessur un horoscope
en langue h6braYque provenantde Qumran,"RevQ 5/20 (1966) 52142; R. Gordis,"A
Documentin Code from Qumran-Some Observations,"JSS 11 (1966) 37-39; J.M.
Strugnell,"Notes en margedu 'Volume V' des 'Discoveriesin the JudaeanDesert of
Jordan,"'RevQ 7/26 (1970) 163-276, esp. 274-76; G.-W. Nebe, "1ntt in 4Q 186,"
RevQ 8/30 (1973) 265-66; M.R. Lehmann,"NewLighton Astrologyin Qumranand the
Talmud,"RevQ 8/32 (1975) 599-602; M. Philonenko,"DeuxhoroscopesQoumrSniens:
identificationdes personnages,"Revue d'Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses 65
(1985) 61-66; F. Schmidt, "Astrologie juive ancienne: Essai d'interpr6tationde
4QCryptique(4Q186),"RevQ 18/69 (1997) 125-41. On 4Q561, an Aramaicphysiog-
nomic tractate,see Eisenmanand Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered,263-65. The
readingsI cite from this work are based on the photographPAM 43.598 in E. Tov
(ed.) with the collaborationof S.J. Pfann, The Dead Sea Scrolls on Microfiche:A
Comprehensive Facsimile Edition of the Texts from the Judean Desert (Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1993).
16 The phrasein the HekhalotRabbatiis D-ro 'hn10 'D, "Whois like
nop 'I'p
Him among those who bind on bindings of crowns?"(?103). (All referencesto the
Hekhalot texts follow the paragraphingof P. Schafer et al., Synopse zur Hekhalot-
Literatur[Tiubingen:J.C.B. Mohr(Siebeck), 1981]). Scholem notes a numberof other
 4QMESSAR (4Q534) 371

suggested that the detailed knowledge of other people's lives attrib-

uted to the Merkavah mystics in the introductionto the Hekhalot
Rabbati (see the appendix)could have been due to their mastery of
physiognomicindicators.'7
The text publishedby Gruenwaldalso has connectionswith Mer-
kavah mysticism,mostly the Sar Torahtradition.A numberof figures
describedin it are precociousor especially skilled in Torah(see T.-S.
K 21 A1.7-10; 17-18; A2.15-17; 24; B1.12-14). One is given Ezra's
epithet, "4aready scribe"(Cnfrn-M10; T.-S. K 21 B1.12). The warning
at the end of this work againstrevealingthe materialto outsidersand
its referencesto meditationin a hidden place and immersionare typ-
ical of the Hekhalotand magical traditions.'8
The most striking connections, however, are found in the Geniza
fragmentpublishedby Schafer (G12 in his edition of Geniza texts).'9
Entitled"A Good Omen" (ncD lD'c), it begins with an alternatefor-
mulationof materialfound in 3 Enoch 1-2, a formulationthat Schafer
has shown is redactionallymore primitivethanthe version in 3 Enoch.
When R. Ishmael ascends on high to gaze at the chariot,God reveals

parallelsin terminologyand contentbetween the Physiognomyof R. Ishmaeland the

Hekhalotliterature,but some of them strikeme more as chancesimilaritiesin language
ratherthan significantparallels.See his notes to the text in "Physiognomy,"480-87
and also "Ein Fragment,"186-93.
Scholem, "Physiognomy,"468-69; idem, "Ein Fragment,"178-79.
"x T.-S. K 21 B2.17-26. Partsof the passage seem to be corrupt,but I would trans-
late it roughlyas follows:
"My son, open your eyes and see with your eyes and hearwith your ears. If you
"'revealthe work of recognitionof bodies, (you shall be) in fire and dloom]ed in
both worlds "andhis [sic] body is given to the cruel one. And if he keeps it ...
to any eye 20exceptto one for whom it is fittingand he shall not repeat... fruit
and he shall not (perhapsdelete "not"?)meditate2"inhis heartwith immersion
in a place of conceal[ment]with which people are unfamiliar22andhe conducts
himself with humilityof spirit and he does not speak in vain, happy is he 23in
his life and happyis he in his death,for he is one of the holy ones and he inher-
its 24agood name for himself and for his progenyforever. [End.] I[f] you want
25tobecome wise in them and in the work of man and womanand cattle and ani-
mals and birds 26andcreeping things of the ground,stand and performa strict
immersionagainstdanger...
The Physiognomyof R. Ishmaelbegins with a similarwarning.The longer versionof
?1 reads, "R. Ishmael said: Suriah,Prince of the Presencetold me a secret, which I
am revealingto you. Anyone who reveals it to him who is unworthyis banishedfrom
this world and from the world to come and his residence is in the lowest level of
Gehenna."Comparablepassages in the Hekhalotliteratureinclude ??299, 314, 335,
489-90, 495, 623, 663, and 705-6.
"' P. Schafer, Geniza-Fragmente zur Hekhalot-Literatur (Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr
[Siebeck], 1984) 135-39.
372 JAMES R. DAVILA

to him the place of souls who have not yet entereda body. Reference
is made to Gen. 5:1 (as in the Physiognomyof R. Ishmael) in some
relationto their prospectiveembodiment.Ishmaelis met by the angel
Metatron,who takes him on a tour of this realm and shows him the
signs of the zodiac. Metatron then launches into a description of
someone's birthand life (whose is not clear), a descriptionsimilar to
those found in the physiognomic tractates.He gives his horoscope,
describesunusualphysicalmarkings,and says thathe shall be "ready"
(vnfl [2b.18]; perhaps to be emended to "a ready scribe" [i1iro 1i1D]
as in Gruenwald'stext) and "one of the good." The text breaksoff in
the middle of an account of a childhoodillness sufferedby the sub-
ject, but apparentlyit describedhis recovery and attainmentof great
things later on.
Thus we see that the writers of the physiognomictractateswere
well aware of the traditionsof the Merkavahmystics, and vice versa.
The same hero, R. Ishmael,figuresin both traditions;they sharemuch
technical terminologyand the techniquesof physiognomyappear to
have been used by the mystics to determinewho was worthyto enter
their ranks.This interweavingof the two traditionsshould lead us to
take a second look at the Qumranmaterialto see if it is reflectedthere
as well. In fact it is. To supportthis assertion,I begin with an anno-
tated translationof 4Q534.

III. Translationof 4QMess ar (4Q534)20

Column 1
1. of the hand two... [ ]... [ ]... a mole. Red2' are
2. the hairs22[and] lentils on [ ] vacat

20 I have reconstructed
the Aramaictext from the photographsin Starcky,"Un texte
messianiquearam6en"and from the plates PAM 41.917, PAM 43.590-591, and PAM
43.941 in The Dead Sea Scrolls on Microfiche.Other treatmentsof this document
includeCarmignac,"Les horoscopesde Qumran,"esp. 206-17; Dupont-Sommer, "Deux
documentshoroscopiquesessdniens,"esp. 246-53; Fitzmyer,"The Aramaic'Elect of
God' Text";Grelot,"Henochet ses 6critures";GarciaMartinez,"4QMessar and the
Book of Noah";Caquot,"4QMessar I i 8-1."
21 Reading1['JPaob (orI['lpoibi).I take the word to be a predicateadjectivemodi-
fying the two masculineplural nouns in line 2. Somethingred is also mentionedin
4Q561 2 2, probablyclose to the mentionof hair (see next note).
22 Reading*4nW. The reading-.MM("barley")is possible paleographically and is
supportedto some degree by the following word, but the masculinepluraladjective
modifying the two words makes the second possibility unlikely. Referencesto hair
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 373

3. and small moles on his thigh [ Is different23

one from another.He
knows xxx24
4. In his youth he shall be like a lion,25[a m]an who knows no
knowledge [until] the time when26
5. [he] knows the three books. vacat
6. [T]hen he shall become prudent and he shall know ... [ ]
... a vision to come to him concerning [the] celestial realm

7. And xxx28and his fathers29xxx30and his beard.3'With him there

[shall b]e his counsel and [his] prudence

(We2t) also probably appear in 4Q186 I iii 4 and 4Q561 2 4. Lines 1-3 of this column
seem to describe the physical appearance of the protagonist. The use of the word
"lentils" in the later physiognomic texts to describe bodily markings has already been
mentioned. Markings on the -hands are also mentioned frequently (e.g., T.-S. K 21
A2.18-21; Bl.8); Physiognomy of R. Ishmael ??23-30, 33.
23 The word 'i7 could also mean "teeth" or "years." The translation "different"
seems to fit the next phrase and the overall context best, although teeth are mentioned
in 4Q186 I iii 2 and 2 i 2 as well as in 4Q561 1 i 3.
24 I cannot decipher the word 7l'boo.
25
Reading CT`4:)with Carmignac (taking Vr7 to be a Hebrew loan word), rather
than @O"C: (Starcky) or pl'nt (Fitzmyer). The first two letters are certain, the third
does not seem large enough to be a tet, and the end of the word reads better as a gin,
since the final nun would go farther below the line if it were 11.The spelling with dou-
ble yod is unusual, but it may be an attempt to reflect the diphthong in the Hebrew
word (cf. LXX Aatoa; Judg. 18:7 etc.). In the Physiognomy of R. Ishmael, ?3 begins
"And whoever resembles a lion..." ('1tt'k Mlrl '0r). The meaning in 4Q534 is un-
clear, although the leonine individual in the Physiognomy of R. Ishmael "is vengeful
and vindictive to his comrade, and concerning him it is said 'he hearkens to a lying
word' (Prov. 29:12)."
26 The word "i (Fitzmyer) could also be read as tt (Starky), that is, "until a time
of mystery..."
27 Another possible reading is fD-Itt. (For the meaninilgof this word, see section IV.)
28 This line bristles with difficulties, and I cannot decipher the first several words
with any confidence. The best reading of the first word is *:"rnu (Carmignac); the ori-
ginal proposal of Starcky, Tdti, seems to me to be paleographically impossible: the
second yod is clear and the final letter looks more like an 'aleph than a he'. The sec-
ond bet is far from certain; kaph or mem seems possible as well. If we accept Carmignac's
reading, the meaning "growth" is still problematic, since we would expect the mascu-
line plural determined state to be marked with only one yod. If we take the first 'aleph
as an internal mater lectionis, the translations "and the gates" or (reading A4!*kmt) "fits
of weeping" are also possible, although I propose them with great hesitation.
29 Reading 'ifool. The reconstruction `itlbmi, "and his (fore)fathers" is possible
but, in the absence of a clear context, conjectural.
30 I cannot decipher the word (or words) o'rla loo.
31 The word nrptl has been taken by previous commentators to mean "old age,"
even though the word is unattested elsewhere and should begin with a dalet in Qumran
Aramaic. The translation "and his beard" is equally possible and subject to the same
two objections. However, the phrase "and his beard" appears in Hebrew (liptl) in
374 JAMES R. DAVILA

8. and he shall know the mysteries of man and his wisdom shall
go to all the peoples and he shall know the mysteriesof all the
living
9. [And alII theircalculationsagainsthim shall come to nothingand
the corruptionof all the living shall be great
10. [ ] his [cal]culationsinasmuchas he is the chosen of God (Trin
Kilbtk).His birth and the spirit of his breath
11. [ ] his [cal]culationsshall be forever.vacat
12.
13.... calculations
14-17. ...

Column2
1. [ ] which... [ ]... fell of old. The sons of the pit
2. [ ] ... evil. The lentil. belonging to
3-5.
6. his bi[rt]h ...
7. and the spirit of [his] breath...
8. forever
9-11....
12. and provincesQr:il).
13. and they will destroy... [ ] [ and in xxx they dwell
who...32 [
14. waters shall cease I ] from [ I pupils (of the eye) (1p?33).
They shall destroy all these, [they] shall g[o (?)
15. ...
16. [ ]... [ ] ... and... they shall understandhis work like
Watchers
17. instead of [his] voice [ ] his/its foundationupon him/it they
shall found. Sin and... [
18. [ ] ... [ ] holy [] and Watcher[s ] word
19. [ ]... uponhim[
20-21.

4Q186 2 i I and in Aramaic(iml-n1)in 4Q561 I i 3 (cf. Mlp in I ii 4), so it would

make sense in the presentcontext. Descriptionsof beardsare also found in the later
physiognomictexts (T.-S. K 21 B1.3; Physiognomyof R. Ishmael??2, 3).
32 I cannot decipher the phrase oo -i t Sn 15?5i.
33 Either
p1 (Fitzmyer)or la= (Starcky)is paleographicallypossible.On the mean-
ing, see section IV.
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 375

IV. 4Q534 and the MerkavahMystical Tradition

Although Gruenwald noted the parallel between 4Q534 and the
physiognomictractates,no one has pointedout the much more exten-
sive connectionsbetween the Qumrantext and the physiognomicand
Hekhalot literaturesas a whole. Many are found in the self-aggran-
dizing hymns that introducethe Hekhalot Rabbati (translatedin the
appendix)and in the Sar Torah tradition.I will survey these parallels
here in the order they arise in 4Q534.
After the physical descriptionin lines 1-3 of col. 1, we are told
somethingabout the youth of the subject.Apparently,his magnificent
esoteric knowledge is missing in his earlierdays and he knows noth-
ing "untilthe time when he knows the three books" (lines 4-5). Such
late bloomers also appear in the Hebrew physiognomic literature.
Gruenwald's text features an individual who suffers a serious fall
from a roof when he is seven years old, but who begins to study Bible
(Torah,Prophets,and Writings)when he is eight. He goes on at age
seventeen to study "Mishnah and halakhot more than his compan-
ions."' Anotherboy learns no Torah until he is eight years old, "but
after that, anything that his companionslearn in two days, he shall
learn in one.35It may be that the hero of 4Q534 is such a slow
learner,who begins to excel only after masteringthe threefoldbibli-
cal canon. Grelot takes the "threebooks" to refer to three works of
the Enochic corpus (the Astronomical Book, the Book of Dreams, and
the Book of the Watchers, all alluded to in Jub. 4:17-22). If the pro-
tagonist is Noah, he is probably right. But if 4Q534 has nothing to do
with Noah, the three books may refer to the traditional threefold cor-
pus of biblical books (as in T.-S. K 21 A1.8), alluded to already at
Qumran in 4QMMT 95g96.36
Thereafter the hero's progress is meteoric. We are told in line 6,
"then he shall become prudent and he shall know . . . a vision to come

3 T.-S. K 21 A1.6-10
35 T.-S. K 21 A2.15-17.
36 Accordingto the lineationof the compositetext translatedby F. GarciaMartinez
in The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994) 77-79. Cf. E. Qimron
and J. Strugnell, Qumran Cave 4.V: Miqsat Ma'afe ha-Torah (DJD 10; Oxford:
ClarendonPress, 1994) 58-59 (C 9-10 accordingto the lineationused in DJD 10) 111-
12. If "Moses"(the Pentateuch)was considereda single book (1IO) and "David"(the
Hagiographa)a single unit, then the collection of "Prophets"could easily have been
thoughtof as a unit as well. In fact, it is not certainthat the text of 4QMMT(4Q397)
readC"shoin3 tw ratherthan n'm:iih=on. since the yod markingthe pluralcon-
structis not preservedon the leatherand the size of the lacuna is uncertain.
376 JAMES R. DAVILA

to him concerning [t]nDlIK." J.T. Milik has noted that the same
word appearsin lQapGen 2:23. The story goes that Lamech, suspi-
cious that his son Noah is an offspringof the Watchers,convinceshis
father,Methuselah,to travelto his own father,the patriarchEnoch,to
whom the angels make everythingknown, in orderto confirmthat the
child really is Lamech's son.
The two words that describeEnoch's locationare difficult.The first
is damaged,and the meaningof the second, pn1nm,is not obvious at
first glance. The word IIIne is an Aramaic form of D'llI (2 Chron. 3:6),
the name of the place that is the source of the gold used for the set-
tings of gems in Solomon'stemple.The medievalHebrewtractateMas-
sekhetKelim takes it to be a name for the Gardenof Eden.Apparently
the meaning is the same in the Genesis Apocryphon,since the trans-
lation of Enochto paradiseis partof the cycle of legends abouthim."
If so, the best readingof the firstword is n which is used in
Jewish Aramaicto mean the top layer (of three) of a clay dam in a
field. In the Genesis Apocryphon,Milik argues,it means the thirdand
uppermostheaven, which containsthe celestial temple and paradise.38
This is where Enoch lives after his translation,and where Methuselah
travels to seek his advice. Another version of the story in I Enoch
106-107 has Enoch living among the angels and having access to the
heavenly tables.39
Returningto 4Q534, we should conclude,then, that the personde-
scribedthereinalso experiencesa revelationaboutthe celestial realm.
It is also possible to translatethe second phrasein 1:6 as something
like "of a vision, so as to come to the celestialrealm,"in which case the
person describedin the work experiencesan actual ascent to heaven
(this is the interpretation of GarciaMartinez).Thus, the hero of 4Q534
has revelationsabout the heavenly realm and may even ascend there
himself. Comparethe experienceof the Merkavahmystic in the open-
ing paragraphof the HekhalotRabbati(?81; see appendix).Even if
this interpretationis wrong and the mystery word means "upon his

37 See P. Grelot, "Parwaimdes ChroniquesA I'Apocryphede la Gentse," VT 11

(1961) 30-38; Milik, The Books of Enoch, 41 n. 1.
3I M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi,
and the MidrashicLiterature(New York: Pardes, 1950) 1.121a, s.v. I:Kf t; Milik,
The Books of Enoch, 41 n. 1.
39 For a discussionof 4Q534 in the context of ascent traditionsin the Qumranlit-
erature,see my article "HeavenlyAscents in the Dead Sea Scrolls," The Dead Sea
Scrolls After Fifty Years: A ComprehensiveAssessment (eds P.W. Flint and J.C.
VanderKam;Leiden:E.J. Brill, in press) vol. 2.
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 377

knees" as translatedby Fitzmyer,the referenceto a vision remains.40

In lines 7-8 we are told of the hero's counsel and prudenceand that
he will know "the mysteriesof man,""the mysteriesof all the living,"
and "his wisdom shall go out to all the peoples." His knowledge of
the mysteries of others foreshadows the similar knowledge of the
Merkavahmystic in the HekhalotRabbati,who knows the details of
the privatelives of others, presentand future (??81-82), their hidden
deeds, good and bad (?83), and all physical and ceremonialdisabili-
ties of a given family (?86).
The transmissionof the protagonist'swisdom to all peoples reminds
one of the claim of the Sar Torah traditionthat full rabbinictraining
can be impartedto even the dullest of students,even outside the land
of Israel as far away as Babylon, with the proper spells and rituals
(??287-88, 305). Indeedthe mystic is promised"if you meritthis seal
so as to use the crown, an rIM :D shall not be found in the world,
and there shall be no fool or dolt among you" (?288). The parallel
here is not exact, since the beneficiariesof the Sar Torahpraxesseem
always to be Jewish, but the connectionis still interesting.
Line 9 of col. 1 tells us that, althoughhuman corruptionis great,
the plots brought against the protagonistshall fail. Much the same
is said of the Merkavah mystic in the introductoryhymns of the
Hekhalot Rabbati. Attempts to harm him or even gossip about him
meet with plagues and dreadfulskin diseases (?84), angelic defense
(?85), loss of posterity and legacy, the "decreedannihilation"(?91),
and celestial excommunication(?92).
Much has been made of the title "the chosen of God" applied to
the hero in 4Q534 i 10. It has been used as evidence of his messianic
status, since the same title is given to the Son of Man in the Simili-
tudes of Enoch. It is quite significant,therefore,that the same title is
applied to the Merkavahmystics in the Hekhalot literature,who are
called "the chosen ones" (nfl'flif) in Hekhalot Rabbati ?92. Likewise,
in 3 Enoch 2 (?3), the worthinessof R. Ishmael to behold the chariot
is based on God's choosing of Israel and the priestly line of Aaron.

I The HekhalotZutartialso ties a visionaryexperienceto kneeling.The "teaching"

mentionedhas to do with "the praxisof the ascent and descent to the chariot"(?423):
R. Akiva said: Whoever seeks to learn this teaching and to explicate the name
fully must sit in fasting for forty days and he must place his head between his
knees until the fasting overcomeshim. He must recite an incantationto the earth
and not to heaven. (?424)
378 JAMESR. DAVILA

Finally, the birthof the protagonistis mentionedin brokencontexts

in 4Q534 i 10 and perhapsii 6. Details of the birth of those mighty
in Torah study are also importantin the physiognomicliterature.
It may be grantedthat at first glance some of the details of col. 2
fit less readilywith my readingthanwith an interpretation that applies
them to Noah and his time. The referencesto "the sons of the pit"
(line 1), to "4provinces" or "cities"(11'-1) (line 12), to destructionand
the ceasing of the waters (lines 13-14), and the two references to
"Watchers"(lines 16 and 18) certainlycohere with the story of Noah.
But I do not think this objection is particularlystrong. If 4Q534 is
in fact a physiognomictractate,it may refer to the fates of different
types of people,and it quiteprobablywould cover a wide rangeof their
life experiences. Of one type of person, for example, the Physiog-
nomy of R. Ishmaelinformsus that "his end is to descend to the pit"
(?38). Cities or provinces could figure in the narrativeof 4Q534 in
many ways other than being washed away by the Flood. In fact, in
Gruenwald'sphysiognomictext, one of the figures becomes a royal
official and receives homage from "all the sons of the province"
' Dns:), while another"arrivesat the province"( D!tri r )
on business.4'The ceasing of the waters in line 14 has been plausibly
applied to the subsidingof the Flood waters, but an obscureword in
the same line suggests a completelydifferentinterpretation. The word
is either Inn (translatedas "gates"by Fitzmyer)or on:(translatedas
"high places"by GarcfaMartinez).If we read tff, the Aramaicword
cannot be "gates,"which is masculine(plural1'ff or Rflf). But there
is a feminine word Mnnin biblical Hebrew and Jewish Palestinian
Aramaicwhich means "pupil"of the eye.42If this is the meaningof
the word, the passage could refer to the abatementof runninessor
tears from the eyes of the subject and thus might have nothingto do
with the Flood. (The Physiognomyof R. Ishmael refers to someone
with runnyeyes in ?2, as does Gruenwald'stext in Bl.22.) The ref-
erences to the Watchers are not significant in themselves; the first
comparessome person or persons to the Watchersratherthan imply-
ing the actual presenceof the angels, while the context of the second

4' T.-S. K 21 Al.21-22; Bi.l.

42 BDB 93a; Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, 1.136b; M. Sokoloff, A
Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic of the Byzantine Period (Ramat Gan, Israel:
Bar Ilan University Press, 1990) 83b. The same word is found in Syriac: J. Payne
Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903) 34a.
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 379

is hopelessly damaged(but reminiscentof the phrasingof Dan. 4:10,

14, 20 [4:13, 17, 23 English]). The Watchersalso appearin the Hek-
halot text 3 Enoch 28 (?44-45), a passage that also echoes Daniel 4.

V. Conclusion
In this article I have shown that it is possible to read the descrip-
tion of the hero of 4Q534 along the lines of the much later"descender
to the chariot"of the Hekhalotliterature.The later mystics are known
by their physical markings(which I have argued elsewhere are akin
to shamanicmarkings),43 their esoteric wisdom and knowledge, their
heaven-supportedinvincibility, and their visionary experiences and
ascents. It is very strikingto find much the same combinationof traits
in the far earlier text from Qumran,and this early formulationtends
to suggest that Merkavahmysticism as a quasi-shamanicsystem of
religious experiencehas very ancientroots indeed."
I am inclined to interpret4Q534 as a physiognomictractateessen-
tially identicalin genre to the much later Hebrewexemplars,in which
the figuresdescribedare anonymous,but my proposalmay be compat-
ible with any of the other interpretations of 4Q534 noted in section I.
If the figure is indeed Noah, Melchizedek, Enoch redivivus, or the
eschatologicalhigh priest,we shouldconcludethat he was picturedin
4Q534 as a prototypeof the Merkavahmystics.45

J3J. Davila, "The Hekhalot Literature and Shamanism," Society of Biblical Lit-
erature 1994 Seminar Papers (ed. E.H. Lovering, Jr.; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1994)
767-89.
4 This conclusion is supported by another article of mine in which I showed that
the basic elements of the story of the Four Who Entered Paradise appear in a Qumran
hymn in a mystical context involving the Garden of Eden and the celestial temple:
"The Hodayot Hymnist and the Four Who Entered Paradise," RevQ 17/65-68 (1996)
457-78.
4S In favor of the last possibility, the eschatological high priest, I note that some
Hekhalot texts emphasize the fact that R. Ishmael is of the priestly line of Aaron. His
lineage forces the angels to show him respect and even to refrain from killing him
when they otherwise might have (3 Enoch 1:3 [?1]; 2:1-4 [?3]; Messiah Aggadah
?140; Ma'aseh Merkavah ?586; Merkavah Rabba ?681). Given the tendency of the
Hekhalot literature to reformulate apocalyptic traditions as mystical teachings (e.g., the
transformation of the eschatological Enochic Son of Man in the Similitudes of Enoch
into the celestial but non-eschatological Metatron in 3 Enoch), it is possible that sec-
ond temple speculation about the eschatological high priest was transformed into mys-
tical adventures and teachings of the priestly rabbi, Ishmael, and his companions.
380 JAMES R. DAVILA

Appendix: The Introductory Hymns of the Hekhalot Rabbatil

(?81) R. Ishmael said:
What are the songs that he who seeks to gaze on the vision of the
chariotrecites, so as to descend safely and ascend safely? Greatestof
all is to engage oneself in making oneself enter and bringingoneself
into the chambers of the Aravot firmamentso as to make oneself
stand on the right side of His throneof glory, and the times that one
stands opposite T'SS YHWH, God of Israel, to see whateveris done
before His throneof glory and to know whatevershall happenin the
futurein the world:
(?82) whoever is abased,whoever is made lofty, whoever is weak-
ened, whoever is made mighty, whoever is impoverished,whoever is
made rich, whoever is killed, whoever is made alive, whoever is dis-
possessed of an inheritance,whoever is given an inheritance,whoever
is given Torah as an inheritance,whoever is given wisdom.
(?83) Greatestof all is that he has a vision of every deed that peo-
ple do, even in inner rooms, whetherfine deeds or corruptingdeeds.
He knows and recognizesthe thief; he knows and recognizesthe adul-
terer;he knows and recognizesthe murderer;he knows and recognizes
the one who is suspect regardingpurity;he knows and recognizesthe
one who tells gossip. Greatestof all is thathe recognizesall sorcerers.
(?84) Greatestof all is that anyonewho raises his hand againsthim
and strikes him-they clothe him with plagues and cover him with
leprosy and wreathe him with skin blemishes. Greatestof all is that
anyone who tells gossip about him-they attack and cast on him all
strokesof skin eruptionsand sores and wounds from which raw boils
emerge.
(?85) Greatestof all is that he is set apartfrom all people and he
is confoundingamong all his peers and he is honoredover heavenly
beings and earthlybeings. And anyonewho stumblesover him-great,
evil, and harshstumblingblocks fall on that personfrom heaven. And
anyone who stretchesout his hand against him-with a writ of the
heavenly law court they stretchout a hand against him.

"6 This translationof the beginningof the HekhalotRabbatiis from a preliminary

draftof my forthcomingedition and translationof the document,based on the manu-
scripts publishedby Schafer in the Synopse. ??87-90 in the Synopse are secondary
reorderingsof ??84-86 in two manuscriptsand do not involve any additionaltext. For
more informationon the edition, see my article"Prolegomenato a CriticalEditionof
the HekhalotRabbati,"JJS 45 (1994) 208-26.
 4QMESS AR (4Q534) 381

(?86) Greatestof all is that all beings shall be before him like silver
before a refiner,whetherit be refinedsilver, whetherit be unfit silver,
or whether it be pure silver. And also he will have visionary insight
into a family, (knowing) how many bastardsthere are in a family,
how many impurepeople, how many woundedby crushing,how many
with mutilatedurinarycanals, how many sons of slaves, how many
uncircumcisedmen.
(?91) Greatestof all is that anyonewho insolentlydefies him-they
make dim the light of his eyeballs. Greatestof all is that anyone who
despises him does not leave behind root or branch,nor does he leave
an inheritance.Greatestof all is that anyone who tells of his short-
comings-they bring "the decreed annihilation"upon him and have
no compassionon him.
(?92a) Greatestof all is that they blow the trumpetand blow the
horn and blow the trumpet,and afterwardthey excommunicateand
take captive and excommunicateand ban (him) three times each day,
from the day that permissionwas given to Israel,to the upright,to the
honest,to themeek,to thehumble,to the sensible,to thechosen(D'Tfl:),
and to the ones set apart,to descend and to ascend to the chariot.