Qumranic and Medieval Exegesis

Full title
‮ממולח טוהר‬‎: Qumranic and Medieval Exegesis
Updated By
Research notes

RS/not checked/27/05/2025

Reference type
Author(s)
Ariel, Chanan
Year
2024
Journal / Book Title || Series Title
Dead Sea Discoveries
Volume
31
Issue / Series Volume
2
Abbreviated Series Name
DSD
Pages
121-142
Work type
Language
Label
09/06/2025
Orion Center Library has physical copy
Abstract

The phrase ‮ממולח טוהר‬‎ appears four times in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, describing the firmament and the angels’ garments. John Strugnell, followed by most scholars, proposed that the phrase be understood as “purely blended.” An examination of the context in which the phrase appears in the Songs supports the possibility that its use began as a reference to the brightness of the firmament and was then extended to apply to the angels’ garments. Our review of the semantic field of the four roots common to the descriptions of the preparation of the incense, the garments, and the firmament—‮דק״ק‬‎, ‮מל״ח‬‎, ‮רק״ע‬‎, and ‮שח״ק‬‎—(a semantic field that was already recognized by the medieval Hebrew grammarians) strengthens the claim of Jean Carmignac, rejected by most scholars, that ‮ממולח‬‎ means “thin and fine.” In my opinion, the phrase ‮ממולח טוהר‬‎ is to be understood as “characterized by a thin, fine brightness.”