The Liturgical-Eschatological Priest of the Self-Glorification Hymn

The so-called Self-Glorification Hymn famously relates the first-person boasts of a mysterious figure who claims to be incomparable in glory and apparently takes a seat among the “gods” ( אלים ). The present study seeks to shed new light on the much-discussed question of this figure’s identity in three parts. First, it will consider selected aspects of the recent debate as to the identity of the speaker, particularly the recent revival of Maurice Baillet’s suggestion that the protagonist is the archangel Michael. Second, it will lend modest support to the view of many scholars that he is a priestly character, even though priesthood is nowhere explicitly mentioned in the Hymn. Third, and finally, on the basis of a comparison of the language used in connection with the speaker in the Canticle of Michael to that linked to the righteous liturgical community in the Canticle of the Righteous , as well as comparative evidence from other sectarian writings, it will argue that the speaker is to be understood as a present member of the community who, by means of liturgical experience, has undergone an extraordinary transformation.