מתנות כהונה, מצוות התורה ורז נהיה: צירופים חדשים וקריאות חדשות בחוכמת רז נהיה

In this paper I offer new reconstructions of two passages from the Qumran wisdom composition Instruction (also known as Musar La-Mevin): 1Q26 1+2 (par. 4Q423 3+4+4a+10) and 4Q423 5+15, and investigate their implications for several key themes in the composition. I compare the instructions concerning the rights and status of priests in 1Q26 1+2 with the “priestly” passage 4Q418 81, and discuss the identity and status of the addressee in both sections. I also offer a new interpretation of the mention of Korah in 4Q423 5+15, based on a comparison with both Ben Sira and early rabbinic sources, which connect Korah’s rebellion with the divine affirmation of priestly dues. In both passages the Torah commandments and narratives are linked to the raz nihyeh, “the mystery of that which comes into existence,” an opaque term which is central to Instruction. In the last part of the article, I examine this link in comparison to the concept of mysteries in writings of the Qumran community, and argue that, while both Instruction and the community writings suggest that God’s mysteries can be revealed through (the study of) the Torah, in Instruction the mystery revealed is the “mystery of existence” itself—an idea which seems to go beyond what is found in other writings from Qumran.