Trumpets and Epitaphs: The War Scroll cols. 3–9 in Ritual Perspective

Cols. 3–9 of 1QM appear to address military organization and tactics. However, the predominant focus in these sections extends beyond warfare to ceremonial elements such as trumpets, banners and the ritual inscriptions on them. Even the weaponry is described with meticulous attention to aesthetic and nonfunctional details, as one might find in a museum exhibition. A literary-rhetorical analysis of these columns points to ritual aspects crafted to evoke in the reader a perception of the war as a sacred, ritualistic event. This is achieved through repeated motifs, categorization into lists of specific orders, modes of communication and interactions, sacred war symbols and interactions with God. Ritual theory is used to demonstrate the ritualistic markers of the text, shedding light on the authors’ aims in portraying the war in this ritualistic manner. This part of the War Scroll is more than a practical military plan, and is rather a ritual representation of the eschatological war, in which the army stands on spiritual foundations.