THE ?

ETRY OF 4Q416 2 III 95-

ERIC D. REYMOND
B rooklyn, N ew Y ork, U S A

The working hypothesis of John Strugnell and Daniel j. Harrington is

that 4QInstruction (4Q415-418, also known as Instruetion of the
Maven and, in previous literature. Sapiential Work A) Is eomposed
with that standard devlee of anelent Hebrew poetry, parallelism,
though they only tentatively assert Its existenee and (question the degree
to which It dominates the work.1 They do not address the nature of
this parallelism, nor do they opine on the structure of any poems
within the text, other than to comment briefly on common topics or
themes. Although a plethora of articles and books have appeared
recently treating various aspects of this text, none to date thoroughly
addresses Its poetry.2 As a first foray into this realm, therefore, I have
analyzed a small segment of in s tr u c tio n , one that Strugnell and
Harrington agree treats a common theme and one which I feel deserves

1 At two points at least the editors tentatively assert that parallelism us membrorum exists in the text and ean be used to reeonstruet the sense of broken passages (j.
Strugnell and D.J. Harrington, Qumran Cave 4, Sapiential Texts, part 2: 4Qlnstruction
[DJD 34; Oxford: Clarendon ?ress, 1999] 5, 17). A greater skeptieism on the presenee
of parallelism in the text Is expressed on page 177: Parallelismus membrorum, though
not neeessarlly observed in 4Q415ff. . .
Harrington, on the other hand, eomm ents
that in Slraeh and in 4Q lnstruetlon the Instruetlons are usually form ulated w ith the
aid of parallelism (Two Early Jewish Approaehes to w isdom : Siraeh and Qum ran
Sapiential W ork A , JSP lb [1997] 26).
2 Strugnell and H arrington (DJD 34) m ention parallelism oeeaslonally in their
eom m entary; H arrington in Two Early Jew ish A pproaehes to w isd o m speaks of
an o n y m o u s and antithetleal parallelism (26), deseribes the organization of the material into short paragraphs (28), and emphasizes that the admonitions in 4Qlnstruetion
are aeeompanied by reasons for following the advlee (28-29). D. Jefferies, by contrast, argues that the author of 4Q lnstruetlon does not write w ith parallelism, but with
the H ellenlstle m onostich ( W isdom at Q um ran: A F orm -C ritical A nalysis o f the
Admonitions in 4QInstruction [? l^ ataw ay , NJ: Gorglas ?ress, 2002] 320). His assertlon Is not supported by the present study that finds, in faet, m ueh parallelism in
4Qlnstruetlon.
Koninklijke Brill NY, Leiden, 2006
Also available online - www.brill.nl

Dead Sea Discoveries 13, 2

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ERIC D. REYMOND

to be eonsidered a coherent poem.3 Analysis of this particular passage

Is important because certain aspects of its structure seem typical of the
work as a whole, including the alternation between bicola and tricola
and the dominance of grammatical parallelism within and between verses.
Comparison with other wisdom texts suggests that the realization of
parallelism in in s tr u c tio n is closest to that in Sirach.
Attention to this in s tr u c tio n poem is also justified due to the
interesting structure of the texts second half (a structure seen elsewhere in in s tru c tio n ) wherein the syntax of one verse forms the
model for the next; analogous clauses appear in succeeding verses,
sometimes shorter, sometimes longer than those that precede. What makes
this structure that much more striking in this poem is that it meshes
with the language and syntax of the biblical commandment to honor
parents in Exod. 20:12 and Deut. 5:16. The synthesis of the biblical
words with the distinct style and ideas of the in s tr u c tio n poet am
testament to that authors ability as a writer and demonstrates how he
could take a prose biblical text and complement it in order to produce
poetry. In general, it also suggests that the author was concerned to
produce a text organized, in part, on parallelism. The poems language
is also similar to two other texts. Comparison to Sir. 3:1-16 demonstrates that the in s tr u c tio n author incorporated more of the Bibles
language into his poem than did Ben Sira. The two passages differ in
that the Sirach text emphasizes a direct connection between honoring
parents and honoring Cod, while such a link is only implied in the
in s tr u c tio n poem, ?arafiels in language and style to another passage
from in s tr u c tio n , 4Q418 81 + 81a 4-5, which admonishes the
maven to honor Cod, complement the implied connection between
filial piety and devotion to God. The similarities between the two
in s tr u c tio n passages suggest at the very least a consistent manner
of ^pression on the part of the in s tr u c tio n author, and perhaps are
meant to suggest that respect for parents contributes to the mavens
eternal glory.
We begin with a reading of the poem itself. Strugnell and Harrington note that in s tr u c tio n is divided into smaller poetic units or
essays.4 They, however, do not speak of poems per se. My understanding of these lines as a coherent poem is based on the simple

3 Strugnell and H ^ ln g to n , DJD 34.120, t22.

4 DJD 34.35. Note also H arringtons remarks in Two Early Jewish Approaehes to
w isd o m , 28.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

179

assumption they together express a single idea, one distinet from

the lines that preeede and follow. Deeiding where poems begin and
end is diffieult in many Hebrew works, notably ?roverbs and Siraeh.
That we should faee sueh a problem in 4QInstruetion is, thus, almost
to be expeeted.
Determining the preeise stiehometry of 4QInstruetion is difficult due
to the texts fragmentary nature and our own ignorance of Hebrew
metrics, as the editors admit However, the present poem is relatively
well intact (with only one word missing) and breaks apart into clauses
that can easily be considered individual cola (according to the generally agreed upon understanding that Hebrew cola within individual
verses usually are of comparable length)^ Strugneti and Harrington
tentatively indicate where they believe lines should divide based on
the syntactic breaks in the text. They indicate these linebreaks in their
translation through capitalizing the first letter of a line. Their division
of the text into cola is the same as my own with one exception: They
divide into two cola what 1 believe should be one. The passage reads
# . Strugneti and Harrington make this into two
cola, dividing it after the spirit. The reason for their division is not
clear since the passage as a single colon is of approximately the same
length as the preceding and following cola.^ Grouping this poems

5 The lines that preeede the poem eoneern the use of poverty as an exeuse for
avoiding the pursuit of knowledge; the lines that follow treat taking a wife.
6 Strugnell and H ^ in g to n , DJD 34.7.
7 On this common assumption, see, for example, D.L. ?etersen and K.H. RIehards,
Interpreting H ebrew Poetry (Guides to Biblieal Seholarship, Old Testam ent Series;
Minneapolis: Fortress Fress, 1992) 44. Although wc are Ignorant of the rules pertaining to Hebrew metries, wc ean aseertain the relative length of a given line of poetry
by eountlng Its eonsonants (Ineluding m atres lectiones), syllables, and w ords (not
Ineluding partieles). This Is the m ethod applied by several seholars in differing eapaeItles. o. Loretz adopted the m ethod of counting e o n n a n t s ; see Die A nalyse der
ugaritlsehen und hebrlsehen Foesle m ittels Stiehom etrie und Konsonantenzhlung,
UF 7 (1975) 265-69, and o. Loretz and I. Kottsleper, Colometry in Ugaritic and
B iblical Poetry (UBL 5; Altenberge: GIS Verlag, 26 (987 . D.N. Freedm an adopted
the method of using syllables (Fottery, Foetry and Propheey, JBL 96 [1977] 5-26).
D. Pardee has experimented with counting words as well as using all of the above
m ethods in a num ber of p ublleations ( 1U garitic and H ebrew P oetic P a ra lle lism ,
[VTSup 39; Leiden: Brill, 988]; idem, Strueture and M eaning in Hebrew Poetry: the
Exam ple of Fsalm 23, M aarav 5 -6 [1990] 239-80). My own applleation of these
methods of quantitative analysis follows the model of Fardee in these works.
8 The approxim ate length of the eola of this verse Is the following (eonsonant/syllable/word): 1 5 -1 0 -2 /1 7 -1 0 -3 . Breaking the last eolon in two w ould result in the following approxim ate lengths: 5- 02-/
2/7064-- .

180

ERIC D. REYMOND

cola Into verses (blcola or tricola) Is also easy due to the clear syntax
of the ^pressions and the relatively consistent length of each colon.
Because my reading of the poem differs slightly from that of
Strugnell and Harrington, 1 offer below a transcription and translation.

1
[ ]

H onor10 your father in your poverty, /

and your m other in your modest state.

Note that I eonsider a verse to be a bieolon or a trieolon.

Although 4Q416 eontains , the parallel passage from 4Q418 eontains ,
as noted by the editors (DJD 34.12C).
Here the beth preposition indieates the state or eondition of the m aven, not
instrument as it does in Isa. 29:13, and elsewhere in texts of this era. This interpretation is, in part, based on the assum ption that the speaker does not advoeate poverty.
On the assumption the text does not advoeate poverty, see J.J. Collins, The Esehatologizing
of W isdom in the D ead Sea Serolls, Sapiential Perspectives: Wisdom Literature in
Light o f the D ead Sea Scrolls; Proceedings o f the Sixth International Symposium o f
the Orion Center fo r the Study o f the D ead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature,
20-22 M ay, 2001 (eds. J.J. Collins, et ^1.; STDJ 51; Leiden: Brill, 2CC4) 6c.
The rarity of the finite verb diseourages an interpretation of these eonsonants as
an infinitive analogous to the eonstruetion of 4Q418 81 + 81a 4:
honor him through your eonseerating yourself to him . Coneeivably the w ord w ritten
could be your beginning, a referenee to the m avens youth (see Job 8:7). In
this ease w hat is indieated as a yodh should be read as a waw. (The eonfusion
betw een the two letters throughout 4Q416 is noted by Strugnell and H arrington [DJD
34.74].) Strugnell and H ^ in g to n do not prefer this option beeause, in part, 4Qlnstruetion plaees so m ueh emphasis on poverty elsewhere, espeeially in the lines preeeding
and following this passage. Their appeal to parallelism as a means of determining the
w ord indieated by these letters is less eonvineing. They eharaeterize as strained the
parallel betw een head and footsteps, the latter w ord refleeting the possible reading of as ( DJD 34.120). On its faee, however, a parallel betw een
in your youth and throughout your life-eourse seems strong. Nevertheless, parallelism is not always the best guide to determining the meaning of ambiguous words;
the eontext of this passage implies that the w ord iudieates poverty.
The letters that eonelude this eolon are easy to read, w ith one exeeption. The
fourth letter of w hat 1 read as eould be read as a daleth. The parallel in
4Q418 does not substantially resolve the ambiguity. Harrington and Strugnell suggest
reading and translating low estate or low condition (DJD 34.113, 120).
In the Bible, the w ord does not have this preeise meaning; BDB translates small
thing, referring, e.g., to a sm all eity (Gen. 19:20), a sm all am ount of tim e (Isa.
63:18). In 4Q417 2 i 10, a w ord from the same root appears () , a w ord eomm on
in the Bible.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

181

Because like a G od^ le a person, so Is his fatoer,^

and like a lord15 1^ 10 a m an so Is his mother;
for / they (are) the w om b^ that w as pregnant w ith you.17
inasm uch as1he (God) has caused them to rule you,19
and (their) inclination (is) according 10 the spirit,7 so serve them.

13 1 follow Strugnell and H arringtons suggestion of reading for 4Q 416s

(DJD 34.120). The parallel passage in 4Q418 reads .
14 The analogy that this verse makes, that a father Is like a God, seems to border
on the blasphem ous, but Is similar to the analogy that ?hllo makes betw een parents
and God in D e Specialibus Legibus 2.225, as an n o n y m o u s reader of this paper has
pointed out 10 me. Ben Sira also makes a similar kind of analogy in a o c l a t l n g the
acts of honoring ( ) God and revering ( ) his priests (Sir. 7:29-31). One might
also note that in Exod. 7:1 M oses Is m ade a God 10 Bha.ra.oh
15 The plural Is used for a singular non-dlvlne entity (see Ges. 1241 and Mai. 1:6).
Alternatively, the plural of this w ord could Indicate God. That a parent should be
obeyed as a m aster finds a parallel in Sir. 3:7b: and like lords ( ) they
(I.e., children) serve () their parents. Due to this parallelone of many
^ In s tr u c tio n shares w ith SlrachI prefer the form er explanation.
16 In biblical Hebrew, w hen Is used m etaphorically It usually refers to a place
of adversity, a meaning which Is obviously unsuitable here. The word appears in a
similar phrase ( ) in 1QH* XI (Sukenlk III): 8, 10, and 12 w here It refers to
wom b/vagina, a meaning that Strugnell and H arrington note seems Inappropriate for
the present context (DJD 34.121). hess likely Is the possibility that this w ord means
o m eth ln g like origin and comes from the same root as the word ( origin),
since such a w ord Is otherwise unattested. Bresumably the entire phrase Intends to
express the Idea that both parents are responsible for the birth of children.
17 This translation presumes the vocalization of the letters , a G-stem, mascullne singular participle from . On this form of the participle with suffix, see Ges.
6

18 The conjunction does not carry an exclusively comparative sense, so comm on to

this conjunction w hen It occurs w ith ] , but rather has a causal nuance. The conjunctlon Is best translated into English w ith the phrase l^ s m u c h as since this conveys
the causal flavor while preserving an a^ o c la tlo n with the conjunctions more comm on
translation as. W hen Is ttanslated as, the subjects, objects, or verbal Ideas
in the m ain and subordinate clauses typically share some comm on ground. Often the
verb of the subordinate clause Indicates expression of some kind and Implicitly
refers to the verbal notion of the m ain clause. Eor example, Deut. 5:16: Honor your
father and your m other as the Eord, your God, has comm anded you (to do). . . . The
verse from ^ n 4 r u c t l o n does not follow this pattern. Nevertheless, the poet has employed
to suggest a link between the establishm ent of parental authority and the obedlence of children. The same applies to the next verse w here the author suggests a connectlon between the revelation of the secret of w hat Is to be and the act of honoring
parents.
19 T. Elgvln comments that the phrase / Is central in our admonition genre and describes m ans place under God and above creation (Adm onition
Texts from Qum ran Cave 4, M ethods o f Investigation o f the D ead Sea Scrolls and
the Khirbet Qumran Site: Present Realities and Future Prospects [eds. M. o. w ise,
et al.; Annals of the New York Academ y of Sciences 722; New York: New York
Academy of Sciences ?ress, 1994] 187). On the relative frequency of this phrase in
^ I n 4 r u c tlo n , see the c o n s e n ts of Strugnell and Harrington (DJD 34.119).
^ Or: and has appointed (them) ( )over (your) spirit, com m anded (you /

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ERIC D. REYMOND

And, Inasmuch as / he21 revealed your ear 10 the secret of w hat Is to be,^
honor them for the sake of your own honor.^
And, with [all your heart^] respect them (lit., respect their faces^) /
for the sake of your life and the lengthening of your days.

In the present division of lines, as mentioned above, eaeh eolon Is of

approximately the same length. Most eola vary between 7 and 13 syllables, between 2 and 4 words, with most lines eontalnlng 9-11 syllables, and 3 words.^ The poem, as my ^esentatlon above suggests.

them) concerning (your) spirit, form ed (you / them) according to the spirit (of understanding), form ed (you / them) according to the Spirit. The reading of the fourth
letter of this colon is unclear. Strugnell and Harcington, noting the ambiguities this
produces, prefer the last of these interpretive alternatives, translating And fashioned
(thee) according to the Spirit (DJD 34.122).
21 The subject of should be God, not parents as Strugnell and Harrington argue
(DJD 34.122). Understanding God as the subject makes the best seuse ^am m aticalty
and contextually, given the subject of the preceding verb . Also, this understanding is consistent w ith the nature of revelation in the ^ c a l y p t l c genre, which
Collins characterizes as ^ e r n a t u r a l (J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination [New
York: Crossroad, 1984] 10). More recently, M.J. Goff does not follow the interpretatlon of Strugnell aud Harrington, but understands God as the subject (The Worldly and
Heavenly Wisdom o f 4Qlnstruction [STDJ 50; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2003] 74).
22 This latter phrase, particularly im portant to the author, has been described as
G ods mysterious plau for creation aud history, his plan for mau aud for redem ption
of the elect (T. Elgvln, The Mystery to Come: Early Essene Theology of Revelation, Qumran between the Old and the New Testaments [eds. E.H. Cryer and T.L.
Thompson; JSOTSup 290; Copenhagen International Sem inar 6; Sheffield: Sheffield
Academ ic ?ress, 1998] 135). See also Collins, The Eschatologizing of W isdom in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, 55.
23 This verse expresses an Idea that seems similar to one in Sir. 3:11a: The glory
( ) of a m an Is his fathers glory () . However, the verse m ight imply more
given ^ I n ^ r u c t l o n s theology. In SIrach, typically, connotes a persons reputation. In ^ I n t r u c t i o n , as elsew here in the scrolls, the w ord Is associated w ith the
future redem ption, ^ c l f ic a l l y with the life or community of angels (see 4Q418 69 II
14, 81 + 81a 4 -5 [cited below]). So, conceivably, here implies more than just
reputation. W hat makes this Interpretation of more attractive is that the author
Immediately before reminds the m aven of G ods revelation of the secret of w hat is to
be, which, as m entioned in the preceding note, has a o c la tlo n s w ith the elects future
redemption, ?arallels in tru c tu re to 4Q418 81 + 81a 4 -5 may further encourage us
in this Interpretation, as will be demonstrated below.
24 The re c o n d u c tio n of Is a guess, based on a distant similarity w ith the
expression from Sir. 7:27 (preserved only in Greek and Syriac), W ith all your heart
honor your father. Another possibility m ight be , based on the similarity w ith Sir.
10:28 (MS A): .
25 . See Lev. 19:32 for this idiom. The passage from Lev. Is concerned
with respect towards elders.
26 The analysis of the cola is the following: 1 5 -9 -3 /1 3 -9 -2 // 1 6 -9 -3 /1 6 -1 1 -3 /
14-7-3 // 1 5 -1 0 -1 /1 7 -1 0 -3 // 2 1 -1 3 -4 /1 4 -1 0 -2 // [1 5 -1 1-3]/19-12-3. The 3mp pronomInal suffix Is counted as two syllables.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

183

contains five verses, an initial bicolon followed by a tricolon, and then

by three bicola. The combination of bicola and tricola is typical of
in s tru c tio n , a trait that by and large contrasts with the structure of
?roverbs and even more with Sirach, but which is similar to another
Jewish Hellenistic wisdom text: the Wisdom of Solomon. Much of
in s tr u c tio n contains cola that are approximately of the same length
as those of this poem.^ However, there am still quite a fow instances
where cola are rather long, longer than would be the case in either
Proverbs or Sirach.^
The nature of the texts parallelism is best appraised using the taxonomy of parallelism developed by scholars like Dennis Pardee, Adele
Berlin, and others.The taxonomy, based on the poems linguistic
layers, distinguishes four types: repetitive (the repetition of a word or
a root), semantic (repetition of synonymous words, or words of the
same semantic field), grammatical (both syntactic and morphological),
and phonetic. Furthermore, the proximity of these parallels are distinguished such that we speak of parallels that appear within a single
colon, between cola of a single verse, between adjacent verses, and
between verses separated by one or more verses.^
Following these distinctions, it is easy to ascertain the degree of
parallelism present. Tittle parallelism of any kind is exhibited within
individual cola, though a repetitive parallel between honor
them and your honor appears in the fourth verse and a
semantic match between your hfo and length of
your days appears in the fifth, a parallel also found in Deut. 30:20.

27 For example, the eola of 4Q416 2 ii 4-10, t 5 - 2 t, range in length betw een 7 and
14 syllables, betw een 2 and 4 words, w ith m ost eola eontalnlng 8 to 11 syllables, 2
to 4 words. Oeeaslonally, one eneounters eola that seem longer, like those of 4Q416
2 111 8 -10 whleh eontaln eola betw een 10 and 15 syllables, betw een 3 and 4 words.
Dividing these into sm aller eola w ould produee eola that w ere uneharaeterlstleally
short. Interestingly this passage Is preeeded and followed by eola that are of the more

, that is shorter, length. There are several iustanees of partieularly short cola

form trleola (note espeelally 4Q417 1 1 6, 7, 8). Rarely there are verses that do
not break up easily Into equal eomponetos all.
28 Com parison with the w isd o m of Solom on Is less germane given that that texts
eola are usually longer due to Greek morphology; see E.D. Reymond The Foery of
toe w isd o m of Solom on Reeonsldered, V T 52 (20C2) 390.
29 See A. Berlin, The D ynam ics o f B iblical P arallelism (Bloom ington, Indiana:
Indiana University Fress, 1985) and Fardee, Ugaritic and H ebrew Poetic P arallelism ;
idem , Structure and M eaning in H ebrew P oetry, 2 39-80; idem , A crostics and
Parallelism: toe Parallelistic Structure of Psalm 111, M aarav 8 (1992) 117-38.
30 The im poriance of distinguishing betw een type and proximity is emphasized by
Fardee, Ugaritic and H ebrew Poetic P arallelism , 7 n. 13.

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ERIC D. REYMOND

Between eola of individual verses, there are several semantie paraliis: father is parallel to mother, and ^ v erty is parallel to modest state in the first two verses, person is
parallel to man, and God to lord in the seeond,
establish as ruler Is elose to serve in the third verse.31
The poem exhibits, however, far more grammatleal parallels (both
syntaetle and morphologleal). In eaeh verse, with the exeeptlon of the
last, the sequence of major syntaetle elements Is parallel between
cola.^ Grammatical parallelism Is enhanced through the repetition of
minor particles (the preposition in the first verse, and the prepositions and in the second verse) and the morphological similarity
between syntactic elements (the second person-singular pronominal suffix
in the first and fourth verses, the third person-singular pronominal
suffix in the second verse, and the third ^ro n -p lu ral in the third).
These morphological repetitions, in turn, create n u ^ ro u s phonetic
affinities within individual verses: beth and kaph in the first verse;
aleph, beth, and kaph in the second. In general, parallelism (of all
types) between cola of a verse dominates the first two verses whereas
grammatical parallelism between cola of a verse and between adjacent
verses dominates the lines that follow.
The only repetitive parallels between adjacent verses am the terms
father and mother (between the first two verses) and the compound
particles ( between the third and fourth verses) and ( between
the fourth and fifth), particles which highlight grammatical ties
between these verses. The single clear semantic parallel between adjacent verses appears between the two last bicola: between to
honor and to revere. Other links between words are largely
suggested through grammatical c o r m ^ ^ mces. So, for example,
grammatical parallelism enhances the association between
honor and life, an association already found in the Bible.33
31 O f these pairs, the first and third are eomm on in the Bible, while the rest are not
found in the Bible.
32 The first verse eontalns the sequenee verb-object-modifier/object-modifier. In the
seeond verse, the sequenee of the first two eola (nominal ^ e d !e fie-modIfier-subjeet/
nom inal ^edleate-m odlfier-subjeet) Is reversed in the third eolon (fe je e t-n o m ln a l
predleate). The third verse eoutaius the sequenee verb-modifier/verb-modifier-verb; the
fourth verse, v e r b - 0 t y e e t - ^ d l f i e b v e r b - m ( 1 d l f i e r . g ven
fifth exhibits a degree of
parallelism sinee the first colon begins w ith a m odifier phrase as does the seeond
colon; the sequenee of this last verse Is modifier-verb-object/modifier.
33 The eonneetion betw een honor and life is a relatively comm on blblleal assoelatlon and Is found w ithin single eola in ?rov. 21:21 and 22:4 and betw een eola of a
verse in Ps. 7:6.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

185

Also, there Is a connection implied between establish as ruler

and reveal, between serve and honor. These last
pairs are interesting, in part, because they are not found in the Bible.
The pair // serve/honor presumably underlies the Greek of
Sir. 3:7 (//), and also reflects that texts emphasis on respecting parents in word and deed (Sir. 3:8).34 The pair // establish as ruler/reveal implies an association between these two
actions performed by God and reflects in s tr u c tio n s central concerns for the etablishment of authority and the revelation of the secret
of what is to be.^
The grammatical parallelism that dominates the second half of the
poem, however, must be described in greater detail. The third verse,
in some ways, forms the model for the fourth verse, which forms the
model for the fifth. For example, note the phrase of the third
verse that stretches from the first to the second colon:

.

This is paralleled by a phrase in the fourth verse, one that fills

only the first colon:
. 36

The linking of verses is even stronger between main clauses; some

grammatical feature of each main clause is duplicated in the verse
that follows it. The main clause of the third verses second colon
( ) is paralleled by the much longer main clause in the second
colon of the fourth verse () . The structure of the
fourth verses main clause is then taken as the model for the entire
fifth verse, such that the first colon conveys the command to respect
parents ( ) [ ^ ] and the second colon is composed of
a single purpose phrase (

^) . The linking of subordinate and main clauses in this way suggests, as has already been

34 The authentielty of the first eolon of 3:7, w hteh is attributed to Greek II, follows
the analysis of Skehan in ?.w . Skehan and A.A. DiLella, The Wisdom o f Ben Sira
(AB 39; New York: Doubleday, 1987) 154. The verse is not present in MS A or in
the Syrlae, though it is present in the Greek and E atln versions.
35 On the slgnlfieanee of these things to the author, see the appropriate footnotes in
the translation of the poem.
36 Note again that the determ ination of eola Is based on the assum ption that eola
of a verse are of approxim ately the same length.

186

ERIC D. REYMOND

mentioned, semantie matches between individual words and, more

generally, links between the different ideas ^pressed.
With regard to parallels between verses separated by a verse or
more, there are few important links. The imperative of honor is
repeated in the first and fourth verses and ^antic/gram m atical parafiehsm links these words with the imperative respect in the last
verse.
An appraisal of the poems line length and parallelism does not do
full justice to the artistry of the text. As mentioned above, the poem
incorporates the language of the biblical commandment (Exod. 20:12,
Deut. 5:16) into these complex parafielistic patterns. The latter bibhcal verse shares with the in s tr u c tio n passage not only the words
, , , , the root , the particles ^and , but also
the order in which these elements appear, while the Exodus passage
contains the same words, with the exception of 37. The 4QInstruction poem even duplicates the Deuteronomy verses repetition of the
particle . As mentioned above, the synthesis of the biblical words
with in s tr u c tio n s distinct style and ideas testify to the poets craft
and ability and his desire to write in parallel cola.
In general, the parallelism of this poem is similar to the parallelism
in in s tr u c tio n as a whole. There is little inner colon parallelism of
any kind. Sometimes phonetic parallels appear within a single colon,
like that between ^ v erty and head in 4Q416 2iii ii,
but this is rare.^ Grammatical parallelism is usually present between
cola of a verse, while semantic parallelism is slightly less frequent. Where
semantic parallelism appears, it is customarily between words that are
synonymous, words that are found parallel to each other in the Bible.^
There are several cases where words that are not traditionally set in
parallel with one another in the Bible are here parallel. Sometimes

37 Exod. 20:12 reads:

The Deut. 5:16 passage Is the foiiowing:
^ [
^^^
. Interestingly, ^th o u g h
the ^ In s tr u e tlo n poem employs the same partieles, they do not neeessarily earry the
exaet same eonnotatlons. Speelfieally, the of the two blblleal verses Is eomparatlve, though in the present poem it has a eausal nuanee, and in the two biblieal verses
is a eonjunetion, sinee it is followed by a verb, while here it is a preposition,
followed as it is by nouns.
38 This parallel also appears betw een adjaeent verses in 4Q416 2 tii 6.
39 For example, like /^ in 4Q416 2 tii 15; // in 4Q417 1 i 13; and
// in 4Q418 81 + 81a 1.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

187

these pairs are found in parallel in Siraeh, as 4) / / Q416 2 ii

18 and Sir. 45:20), and the pair // cited above. Sometimes
there no other case of the words being set parallel to each other.
The more curious of these include // and //
in 4Q416 2
iii 14-15, // in 4Q417 1 i 6, and :// in 4Q418 81 + 81a
5. ?honetic parallelism sometimes appears between cola of a verse, for
example like the n u m e r o u s mems in 4Q416 2 iii 15. Usually these
phonetic similarities are due to the repetition of suffixes like the second masculine singular pronominal suffix.
?arafiehsm between adjacent verses is also found in other parts of
^Instruction. There are some repetitive and semantic matches in this
distribution, like that seen between the first colon of two adjacent tricola in 4Q416 2 ii 17-18:

[ ]
[

[Do not s]ell yourself for wealth;

It Is good that you are a servant by means of (your) fortitude (1 ., spirit),**
and that you slave for your oppressor for nothing.
Thus for a prlee / do not sell your honor,
and do not give It in pledge w ith your Inherltanee,
lest he (I.e., the wealthy eredltor) take possession^* of your body.

?erhaps, however, the more remarkable type of parallelism in this distribution is grammatical, the kind witnessed in the second half of
4Q416 2 iii 15-19. This basic rtructure in which minor particles are
repeated and the syntax of one clause is mimicked in subsequent
verses is also found in some other in s tr u c tio n poetic units.^ For
example, in 4Q416 2 ii 18-21:

/
/

* The w ord eonnotes a wide variety of feelings in Hebrew, Ineluding patlenee

and eourage. ?resum ably the author Is emphasizing that It Is good for the m aven not
to be sustained through the (wleked) em ployers monetary rewards, whleh are morally
corrosive.

41 Strugnell and H arrington read . This m ight be the H-stem of , similar to

the previously anom alous form in Num. i4:24, or a m istake for the G -stem .
Reeall that yodhs and w aws are In d l^ ln g ls h a b le in this text (DJD 34.74).
42 It Is sometimes more dlffieult in these other eontexts to speak of poems per se
and not verse paragraphs or poetle units.

188

ERIC D. REYMOND

Do not sate yourself with bread / w hen there Is no elothlng,

nor drink wine w hen there is no food. /
Do not seek delight
when you / laek bread.^
Do not honor yourself through your needs^
when you are poor,^ lest / you despise your life.46

The eomblnatlon of an admonition and a subordinate temporal elause

in eaeh eolon of the first verse Is paralleled in the strueture of the seeond and third verses. In the first verse the temporal elauses am eomposed of the partiele of negation plus a noun ( and ) .
In the seeond verse the temporal elause ^presses essentially the same
idea, but includes an independent pronoun, a participle, and a noun
() . In the third verse, the temporal phrase has a similar
strueture and includes the same eonjunetion and pronoun followed by
a nominal predieate () , but also eontains a negative final
elause (with )indicating the possible result of following this mode

43 The length of the eola is the following (consonant/syllable/word): 1 8 -9 -3 /1 5 -9 -3

// 1 2 -6 -2 /1 0 -7 -3 //
592-/ 8-
M aking the seeond verse a single colon (as a
third colon eonneeted to the first two) w ould m ake a colon substantially longer than
the preeedlng two (22-13-5).
44 . Strugnell and H ^ I n g to n note that this idiom (the HtD-stem
of followed by the preposition beth) Is not found in Qum ran or blblleal Hebrew
(DJD 34.108). It does oeeur, however, in the Hebrew gloss to sir. 10:31 (M anuseript
B, p a rtially p reserv ed in M a n u se rip t A): ; see
p. Beentjes, The B ook o f Ben Sira in H ebrew (VTSup 68; Leiden: Brill, 1997) 36, 49.
M ore slgnlfieant, however, Is the parallel to the Idea expressed here in sir. 10:26b
(M anuscript A): [][ ] , Do not hon[or] y o u rself [in the tim e
of] your need. On this reeonstruetlon see: M.Z. Segal, Sefer Ben Sira (Jerusalem:
Bialik Institute Press, 1953) 64. M anuseript B reads [ . . . . . . . .] and in the
m argin [ .] (Beentjes, Ben Sira in H ebrew , 49). The Greek and Syriae support the
reconstruction.
Also, It m ight be pointed out that this passage in 4QInstruetI0n eontains several
other lexleal paraiieis to sir. 10:25-36, Ineluding in sir. 10:25 and 4Q416
2 II 15; in Sir. 10:27 versus in 4Q416 2 II 17. Strugnell and
Harrington do not refer to the frequeney of these sim ilarities, w hieh may be pure
coincidence.
45 Perhaps this Is the noun poverty () , used as the predieate to a nom inal
c1a.ue. If so, its use w ould be similar to that of in Ps. 19:10 and in Prov.
3:17. Strugnell and Harrington transiiterate the w ord with a waw (DJD 34.90).
46 The Hebrew to this line Is: 4) / Q4 1 6 2 II 20-21). The last
five letters in line 20 are dlffieult to read, as Strugnell and Harrington Indleate (DJD
34.90). The tem poral phrase may be syntaetleally connected to w hat preeedes or w hat
follows, the latter resulting in a ttanslatlon like and w hen you are poor, (do not do
this) lest you despise your life. The absenee of an Impllett Imperative before a final
phrase beginning with Is common (see BDB sub and GKC 152 w).

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

189

of behavior. Other examples of this kind of strueture ean be found in

4Q417 1 i 16-18 and in 4Q418 81 + 81a 2-3.47
Cases where words are repeated at the beginning and end of a
poetie unit appear oeeasionahy. In the short poetie unit of three (albeit
long) verses in 4Q416 2 iii 8-10 inheritance appears in the first
and last verses. In the following poetic unit (also occupying three
verses),

^continually appears in the first and last verses.

Overall, while the line-length in in s tr u c tio n is less predictable
than in other biblical wisdom texts, the degree of parallelism seems
on par with that in ?roverbs. Job, Sirach, and Wisdom. This judgment
is based on the in depth survey of this one in s tr u c tio n poem and a
cursory analysis of the entire work.^ It would appear that by and large
the entire text contains proportionally the same amount of semantic
parallelism within cola as Sirach.4 Between cola of a verse, in s tru c tio n

47 4Q417 1 18- 16 : He eaused Enosh (or, man) together w ith a spiritual people
to Inherit It (I.e., the meditation), / for ( ) his (I.e., E noshs) form (Is) aeeordlng to
( ) the model of the holy ones. // But, he did not give the m editation to any spirit of
flesh / beeause ( ) it (sueh a spirit) does not distinguish (lit., know) betw een good
and evil / aeeording to ( ) the judgem ent of its spirit. In this passage the explanatory eolon of the first verse is the model for the two eola in the seeond verse. Both
explanations employ the eonjunetlon and the preposition kaph. Another exam ple Is
found in 4Q418 81 + 81a 2-3: Eor he ( ) Is the m aker of all / and he eauses them
eaeh to inherit his (I.e., G ods) toheritanee. // And, he ( ) Is your statute and Inherflanee / in the m idst of the ehlldren of men, / and over his (I.e., G ods) Inherflanee he
eauses you to rule. In this passage the nom inal expression oeeupies only the first
ve rse s first colon w hile a sim ilar phrase oeeupies two eola in the seeond verse.
Semantle and gramm atleal parallels betw een these adjaeent verses further eomplement
this understanding.
48 In general my guiding prlnelple w hen analyzing 4QInstruetlon as a whole was to
assume that a single verse (usually a single sentenee) eontains eola that are approximately of the same length, with regard to the num ber of eonsonants, syllables, and/or
words. Assum ing that sueh eolon-divisions are more or less aeeurate, there are a total
of 61 verses that I eould analyze, betw een 13 and 17 of w hieh are trieola. O f these,
31 exhibit both semantle and gramm atleal parallels (51% of the verses), 10 only gramm atieal parallels (16%), 5 eontain only semantic parallels (8%), and 15 eontain no
signifieant parallels (25%). Or, stated another way, over half of the verses (59%) contain a semantle parallel betw een their members; roughly two-thirds (67%) eontain a
gramm atieal parallel betw een members; a quarter (25%) eontain no parallels.
On the nature and frequeney of parallelism in ?roverbs, one may eonsult ?ardee,
Ugaritic and H ebrew Poetic P arallelism ; in Job, D .w . Cotter, A Study o f Job 4 -5 in
Light o f Contemporary Literary Theory (SBLDS 24 ;Atlanta: Seholars ?ress, 1992);
in Slraeh, E.D. Reymond, Innovations in H ebrew Poetry: Parallelism and the Poem s
o f Sirach (SBL 9; Atlanta: Soelety of Blblleal Elterature, 2004); and in w isdom , idem,
The ?oetry of the w isd o m of Solom on Reeonsldered, 385-99.
49 A pproxim ately 16% o f verses eontain one colon w ith an Internal sem antle
parallel.

190

ERIC D. REYMOND

attests more frequent use of semantie parallelism than Slraeh, though

less than ?roverbs. Job, and wisdom. In Slraeh the tendency to juxtapse an admonition and a reason for following the admonition Is one
trait that contributes to the fewer number of semantie parallels between cola of a verse. It Is slgnlfieant to note, therefore, that verses in
4QInstruetlon also, as Harrington observes, include reasons for following the advlee.^ As in Slraeh this Is often realized by combining
an admonition with a negative final clause or explanatory expression.51
The frequeney of grammatleal parallelism between cola of a verse
here Is by and large the same as that in the other wisdom texts. Repettlve parallelism within and between cola appears in 4QInstructlon approxImately as often as It does in ?roverbs and Sirach, from what evidence
there ls.^ ?honetlc parallelism is largely used in association with the
repetition of minor elements. As in Sirach, semantic, repetitive, and
grammatical parallelism between adjacent verses give coherence to poems
and suggest associations between distinct ideas, more so than in Job
and ?roverbs. The fr^uency with which these types of parallelism appear
between verses Is difficult to determine due to the fragmentary state
of the scroll. Similarly, the frequency of parallels between verses separated by a verse or more Is hard to assess.
Although I have attempted to find other places in 4QInstructlon that
contain substantially the same diction as biblical verses, I have been
unsuccessful, ?erhaps, the present poem Is the only Instance of this in
the work. However, in his borrowing of biblical language, the author
of 4QInstructlon Is not alone. The use of this biblical commandment
as a tructuring device Is also found in sirach 3:1-16.
Both the poet of 4QInstructlon and Ben Sira use language from the
biblical commandment to frame their poem, or a part of It. In the
Sirach poem, the sage brackets the first verse paragraph, which
extends between verses 1 and 6, with language reminiscent of the bibllcal admonition.
, ,
, '

50 Harrington, Two Early Jewish Approaehes to W isdom , 28-29.

51 See 4Q416 2 ii 6-7, 16, 20-21, iv 5; 4Q417 i 16-18, 2 i 10, 20 and, e.g., Sir.
8:10, 17; 9:3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12.
52 There are three repetitive parallels w ithin eola (4Q416 2 iii 18, 4Q416 2 iv 8;
4Q418 81 + 81a 4) and seven betw een eola of single verses (4Q416 2 ii 17; 4Q416
2 iv 7-8; 4Q417 1 i 7, 15-16; 4Q418 81 + 81a 1, 1-2, 3).

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

191

Pay attention to the reproof of a father, ehlldren,

and do so that you may live (3:1).53
The one praising a father will live long (3:6a).54

In the ^ n stru e tlo n passage, where the blbheal eommandment forms

the skeleton of the entire poem, the allusions are, by eomparison,
more frequent. Like in 4QInstruetion, however, an admonition and a
promised reward am used as part of an envelope strueture. In terms
of eontent, Ben Sira, like the author of 4QInstruetion, eompares parents to masters (3:7b) and elaims that God has plaeed them in this
superior position (3:2). In the poem from 4(^nstruetion, the poet eomplements the bibheal promise of long life with the suggestion that
respeeting parents benefits ones honor (honor them for the sake of
your own honor). Ben Sira similarly emphasizes the importanee of
ones own blessing (3:8b), honor (3:11a; ), and the threat of shame
(3:10). The two texts do exhibit distinetions, however. Ben Sira makes
explieit that honoring parents is part of honoring God (3:6b, 7a, 16)
and, in addition, suggests that eare for parents is a means for expiting sin and aequiring more wealth (3:34, 14-15).55 That honoring parents is related to honoring God is only implied in 4QInstruetion; God
has given parents authority over the maven and thus they fit into Gods
overall plan for ereation. In this sense, one may assume that affirming
parental authority means affirming Gods plan for creation. Furthermore, the author of 4QInstruction does not mention the possibility of
expiating sins or gaining more wealth. The references to ones own
honor and to the revelation of the raz nihyeh suggest, as pointed out
in the notes to the translation, that perhaps the author intends to imply
that respecting parents wifi add to a mavens eternal glory among the
angels. If such were the case, then the author of in s tr u c tio n is
promising, although obliquely, much more than either the Bible or

53 The trn s la tio n of as you may live follows the notes and translation of
Skehan and DlLella (The Wisdom o f Ben Sira, 153-54).
54 The Slraeh passages allusions to the blbheal com m andm ent are more opaque
than those in ^ n s t r u e t l o n , though still dlseernlble. In sir. 3:6, for exam ple, the
Hebrew behind the Greek ^ Is .
55 Other Hellenlstle texts also make a dlreet assoelatlon betw een honoring God and
parents, like, e.g., ?seudo-Thoeylldes, line 8 and the Sentenees of Syrlae Menander,
lines 9 -1 0 (The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha [ed. J.H. Charlesworth; New York:
D oubleday, 1985] 2.574, 592). In a footnote to the form er passage in ? se u d o ?hoeylldes, ?.w . Van der Horst notes that the pairing of these two Ideas Is eomm on
in Greek ethles and appears in Sib. Or. 3.593f; Tub. 7:20; Josephus, Apion 2.206; ?hllo
Spec. Leg. 2.235 (ibid., 2.574 n. e).

192

ERIC D. REYMOND

Sirach does. That this is the intention of the author seems more piausibie when this poem is eompared to another text from 4QInstruetion.
The poetie fragment in 4Q418 81 + 81a 3-5 uses much the same
ianguage and syntax a^ the poem of 4Q416 2 iii 15-19:

/
^

/ ] [][

And you, / through this, honor him (i.e., God)

through your eonseerating yourself to him,
in as m ueh as he has set you
as a Holy of Holies
[for the entire] w orld,56
and among all the [an]ge[ls] / has east your lot,
and greatly inereased your honor.

The paraiieis between this passage and 4Q416 2 iii 15-19 shouid be
ciear: Both texts empioy the imperative foiiowed by a beth-prepositional phrase; both contain the noun , as weii a^ the compound
particle . Moreover, both passages encourage the maven by noting some bmeficent act of God (here, estabiishing him a^ a Holy of
Hoiies and promising to set him among the angeis, in 4Q416 revealing to him the secret of what is to be). Both stipuiate that the maven
wih receive giory by honoring or giorifying another. In the passage
from 4Q418 81 + 81a, the giory that the maven is due to inherit is
associated with his (future) existence among the angeis, whiie in
4Q416 the honor due him for honoring parents is, on the face of it,
associated with his present worid. The clear simiiarities in the construction and language of the two passages reflect the consistent manner of ^pression of the author. But, perhaps they aiso reflect an
attempt on the part of the author to iink the two forms of piety and
their rewards. If the poem of 4Q416 2 iii 15-19 impiies that honoring
parents heips the maven achieve an eternal glory, then it is consistent
with i n s t r u c t i o n s suggestion that being financially responsible
leads to finding favor with God.^

56 The diffieulty in knowing where 10 break lines is well represented through this
verse. Should it be divided into three eola (8-6-1/1 l- 6 - 2 /[ 7 - 4 - l] ) or should it somehow be eonneeted with the following verse?
57 See J.E. Burns, Rraetieal W isdom in 4QInstruetion, DSD 11 (2004) 37-38.

THE ?OETRY OE 4Q416 2 III 15-19

193

Analysis of 4Q416 2 111 15-19 demonstrates that at least portions

of 4(^nstruetlon are dominated by parallelism. The realization of parallelism in this poem indicative of the use of parallelism in many
parts of the work. Among wisdom compositions, the parallelism of
^Instruction bears closest affinity to the parallelism in Slrach. Such
similarity in the types and distributions of parallelism suggests, perhaps (but by no means certainly), that the two works were composed
near the same time. (The two works do differ from each other, however; in s tr u c tio n contains tricla and some extremely long lines.)
The single most Interesting structural feature of the poem Is the linkage of verses through the repetition of minor particles and the dupllcation of syntactic rtructure. In terms of content, this poem shares
much with Sir. 3:1-16, though Its rtructure Is more dependent on the
biblical com m andent from Exod. 20:12 and Deut. 5:16. Features of
the poem are similar to another in s tr u c tio n passage admonishing
the maven to honor God. The correspondences between the two passages emphasize the works consistent ^pression and may be meant
to imply that respecting parents Is one aspect of honoring God and
that the glory referred to in 4Q416 2 iii 18 connotes more than just
reputation in this world, but also an eternal glory.


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