The Hymn to the Creator
9 Great and holy is the Lord, the holiest unto every generation.
9-10 Majesty precedes him, and following him is the rush of many waters.
10-11 Grace and truth surround his presence; truth and justice and righteousness are the foundation of his throne.
11-12 Separating light from deep darkness by the knowledge of his mind he established the dawn.
12 When all his angels witnessed it they sang aloud for he showed them what they had not known:
13 Crowning the hills with fruit, good food for every living being.
13-14 Blessed be he who makes the earth by his power, establishing the world in his wisdom.
14-15 By his understanding he stretched out the heavens, and brought forth [wind] from his st[orehouses].
15 He made [lightning for the rai]n, and caused mist[s] to rise [from] the end [of the earth].
Source – 11QPsa 26.9-15
The transcription and translation of Hymn to the Creator below are from James Sanders’ DJD edition:
Psalms Scroll 11QPsa (=11Q5) is the largest of all extant Psalms manuscripts found at Qumran. It is made up of forty-nine compositions, seven of which are not found in the MT collection. While four of these extra compositions are attested elsewhere in ancient literature, three are unique to 11QPsa. They are known as Plea for Deliverance, Apostrophe to Zion and Hymn to the Creator. In this paper, we argue that the composer of Hymn to the Creator copies the structure of a biblical hymn and cites biblical hymnic verses. However, he reworks his biblical source material in a way that eliminates a theological motif present in the biblical contexts of the passages he cites. Through omission, source substitution, and re-contextualization, the composer of Hymn to the Creator eliminates all traces of the biblical portrait of an animate nature. Vitality applies only to God and his angels.
Zadok Way presents the 2024-2025 Zadokite Priestly Calendar. This calendar is a culmination from the contributions of scholars, theologians, and fellow laborers in Yeshua. Many, past and present, have contributed to the most extensive research of the Qumran Zadokite calendar to date. This is the expression of our combined work by the guidance of the set-apart Spirit. We continue to learn and apply the details of the calendar as we are guided into understanding by the Spirit.
