4Q491-4Q496, 1QM התפילות בספרות המלחמה האסכטולוגית בקומראן:

The six Cave 4 manuscripts (4Q491–4Q496) that describe the eschatological war have been identified by Maurice Baillet as copies of the Cave 1 War Scroll (1QM). But a detailed comparison of 1QM and these Cave 4 manuscripts fails to substantiate this identification. In fact, each manuscript deals with a different matter related to the eschatological war, and the only overlap between these texts appears in prayers and war descriptions. The present article compares one set of parallel prayers, namely the prayer to fortify the warriors from 4Q492 1, with two versions of the same prayer found in 1QM XXII, 7–16, and XIX, 1–8. Although the three share the same basic text, the prayer appearing in 1QM XXII is marked by unique material, small theological additions, and, occasionally, different vocabulary. The analysis shows that two versions of the same prayer are at hand: one appears in 1QM XIX, 1–8 and in 4Q492 1; the other, more expanded version, is incorporated into 1QM XXII, 7–16. Significantly, these variations appear in a prayer, a type of literary unit which is by nature traditional and thus may have been incorporated into the War literature as an already existing unit. A similar phenomenon is observable in the descriptions of the eschatological war, all of which, both in 1QM and the Cave 4 texts, reveal the same basic pattern. In light of these conclusions the six Cave 4 manuscripts should be considered not copies of 1QM, but a reworking of various sources incorporated in the War literature from Qumran.