Qumran prayer and religious poetry
By: by Bilhah Nitzan ; translated from the Hebrew by Jonathan Chipman.
Series: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah,; v. 12
Publisher: E.J. Brill
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Leiden; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 415
Subjects: Dead Sea scrolls.; Judaism -- Liturgy -- Comparative studies.; Jewish religious poetry, Hebrew -- West Bank -- Qumran Site -- History and criticism.
Description: This book represents the first attempt to undertake a systematic, comprehensive study of the liturgical and poetic texts which were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran.

The collections of prayers, blessings and hymns indicate that fixed prayers were already customary within Judaism during the period of the Second Temple within sectarian circles. In the light of the prayer texts from Qumran the author conducts a systematic study of Jewish prayer beginning with its biblical traditions, through its development during the Second Temple period, and down to rabbinic prayer.

By means of comparative literary analysis, the author is able to elucidate the relationship of the Qumran texts to forms and motifs found in parallel text types from various periods and circles within Judaism. This volume provides the reader with tools for a renewed study of the history of prayer in Judaism in the light of new textual evidence from the Second Temple period.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [371]-380) and index.